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Motorola Razr 2023 review – a flipping cool phone that you can afford

12:00 pm | March 24, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Phones | Tags: Motorola Razr | Comments: Off

Motorola Razr 2023: One-minute review

The Motorola Razr knocked my socks off when I first saw it last year, and it’s remained one of my top three phone designs of the past year (the other two being OnePlus phones). I love the color options, I dig the feel of the ‘vegan leather’ finish, and I show off the amazing clamshell design. If you haven’t seen this phone go from a truly huge smartphone to a tiny, pocketable communicator, you need to get your hands on one for a look.

Compared to the Motorola Razr Plus, I missed the larger display but the smaller screen on the cover of the Motorola Razr was still sharp and very usable. You can get a preview of your selfies and videos on this phone, just like on the more expensive clamshell foldables, which means you can use the main camera as your selfie cam.

Unfortunately, the camera is the perennial compromise with foldable phones, and none moreso than on this Razr. The Razr Plus had disappointing cameras, but the Moto Razr cameras just feel a bit cheap compared to other options in this price range. For $500, you can get a Google Pixel 7 or a OnePlus 12R, and both of those have much, much better cameras than this phone.

What those phones, and any other phone in this price lacks is the cool factor of the Razr. You can snap it shut to hang up on a phone call. Heck, you can hang up on TikTok or Snapchat the same way. It’s a very satisfying way to put your phone away and focus what’s in front of you, and that is part of what makes the Razr so cool.

The Motorola Razr dares you to put away your phone. You can take photos without the distraction of a big screen. You can check messages with a quick glance. You can snap it shut and show off the look instead of looking at the show. That’s cool. Being hundreds cheaper than other clamshell phones? Maybe the coolest part of all.

Motorola Razr 2023 review: price & availability

Launched at a higher price and immediately went on sale
Cheaper than every other new clamshell
Don’t buy it when it’s not on sale

The Motorola Razr had a staggered launch across the globe, in the shadow of the more exciting Motorola Razr Plus. This phone snuck into US stores at a price close to $700 at launch, after sitting on shelves in the UK for months prior. It quickly went on sale, dropping $100 then another $100, settling at its current price point.

Except Motorola hasn’t changed the price, it’s just kept the phone on sale for months. Not one sale, either, but different sales that tend to run concurrently. As I write this there is a “Spring Break” sale offering $200 off. I’m sure there will soon be an “April Showers” sale offering $200 off, followed by a Mother’s Day $200 sale. Don’t worry about that sale expiration date, but don’t buy this phone if it’s not on sale.

Outside of the US, this phone ships with 256GB of storage, but Americans only get 128GB. We all get 8GB of RAM on this phone, though a 12GB variant may be available in other regions.

Value score: 4 / 5

Motorola Razr 2023 review: specs

The Motorola Razr 40 isn’t a very powerful phone, but it can handle any apps, web pages, and games you throw its way. It lacks the high-end camera specs you’ll find on other bargain phones like the OnePlus 12R, and even the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra has slightly better cameras. That said, you still get a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset, a respectable engine that is capable enough, as well as 8GB of RAM and just enough storage, 256GB if you live outside the US (sorry Americans, only 128GB for us).

It’s hard to compare specs directly, because the Motorola Razr 40 bends in half. The OnePlus 12R may have better cameras, but the Motorola Razr weighs 20g less, and it folds up to a pocketable shape that is half the length of the OnePlus phone. If size and style are meaningful, that’s worth a lot more than a little spec bump.

Motorola Razr Plus review: design

Motorola Razr Plus 2023 — (Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)

Loses the chin but it’s for the best
External display is much more useful than anticipated
Very thin whether open or closed

At a glance, the Motorola Razr Plus seems to borrow heavily from Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip design while ditching some signature Razr design elements, notably the chin. Motorola wouldn’t come right out and say it ditched the chin because it was downright ugly, but let’s face it – it was ugly.

When folded, the two halves of the phone smack together like pursed lips, with a gentle curve around the edges that still manages to cleave together in a sealed crease. Perhaps it's the Viva Magenta hue of my review unit that adds to this impression. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, by comparison, seems boxy and square. The Razr Plus shows no visible gap when closed, unlike every competing flip phone so far.

When you open the Razr Plus, the crease disappears more completely than on any flip phone I’ve used. It’s there, and you can feel it, but it's so unnoticeable that my dad, upon seeing the phone unfold, exclaimed “Wow, the crease just disappears!” Folding phones are new to him, but he was enamored enough by the Razr Plus to look ruefully at the Galaxy S23 he'd just purchased.

Those rounded edges also come together very nicely when the phone is unfolded, creating a seamless curved edge that makes the flexible glass seem even more impossible. The fingerprint scanner is embedded in the power button, which doesn’t stick out as much as the volume rockers, which are the only protruding buttons.

When you close the Razr Plus, the external display lights up and wraps around the dual camera lenses and the small flashlight. Rather than looking odd or compromised, it makes the phone look ultramodern. It doesn’t say “we’ve cut up our display,” it says “our display doesn’t stop for camera lenses.”

Motorola Razr Plus 2023 external display — (Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)

It was absolutely the right choice (apologies to the rumored Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 cover display camera corner cutout), and Motorola has even designed games that have you drop marbles into the holes created by the lenses, embracing the design. I’ll talk more about what this screen can do later, but suffice to say, for now, that it's very big for a second screen on a flip phone, and it makes a huge difference.

As mentioned, my review unit is in the Viva Magenta finish, which also uses a so-called 'vegan leather' material. It may be plastic, but it feels great. Also, the phone never slipped off a surface, even in my car when I left it sitting on my center console while in stop-and-go traffic.

Motorola should seriously consider launching more (read: all) color options in this vegan leather finish. It feels more durable than glass, it weighs a few grams less, and it looks great. I’m tired of glass. As long as Moto is shaking up the phone world, let’s shake off the glass back as well.

Design score: 5 / 5

Motorola Razr Plus review: display

Bigger and brighter than competing flip phones
External display is a real game changer
Cover screen is bigger than the original iPhone's screen

If the Motorola Razr Plus didn’t have the great external display it would still be a standout for its big folding internal screen, which is great news if you’re holding out for the Motorola Razr 2023, which will have the exact same internal screen (though the slower chipset will run it at ‘only’ 144Hz).

Motorola’s display has the same ‘FHD+’ resolution as the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, at 2640 x 1080 pixels. It unfurls to a majestic 6.9 inches, which really is a marvel of modern technology when you think about it. When the first tablets were launched, that compact models had a 7-inch display, and now that same display size – and a higher-quality display too – is available on a thin smartphone that folds up to fit in your pocket.

Motorola Razr Plus apps — (Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)

For comparison, the iPhone 14 Pro gives you around 2.5 inches less screen area, even though it weighs more. No matter what phone you’re used to using, when you open up the Motorola Razr Plus you’re going to be amazed by just how much screen you can fold up and stow in your pocket.

Here’s another mind-blowing iPhone comparison. The original iPhone had a 3.5-inch display (with a 480 x 320 resolution), with just over 5.6 inches of screen area. On the Moto Razr Plus you get almost 6.5 square inches of screen space on the external 3.6-inch square display, and it runs at a stunning 1056 x 1066 resolution, which means it has the same sharpness (pixel density) as the internal screen.

In other words, this is the first flip phone that isn’t paying lip service to the cover screen. This isn’t a screen that’s just for checking the weather or simple notifications, and neither is it there to just show cute animations. This is the real deal. You can run full apps on this display, as I’ll explain in the Software section below. Apps aren’t always drawn properly, but you can run almost anything, unlike on previous external displays, which could run almost nothing.

I wish both displays were much brighter, but that’s because I was using them a lot for taking outdoor photos, and from unusual angles, making them harder to see. The internal screen can go just a bit brighter than the one on Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 4, but the external screen needs a real boost. Neither display comes close to the brightness you’ll get from an iPhone 14 Pro.

Display score: 5 / 5

Motorola Razr Plus review: cameras

The weakest link in the Razr Plus' chain
Image processing is terrible
Better for selfies than most competitors

Ugh… why Motorola? Why does everything have to fall apart when it comes to the cameras? I have reviewed and previewed quite a few Motorola phones in the past year, and none of them have impressed me with their photography capabilities. The Motorola Razr Plus sadly continues Moto’s problematic tradition of phones that take bad photos.

How bad? Pretty bad. I relied on this phone for my kid’s 8th grade graduation, and it was a big mistake. I won’t make that mistake again for the High School finale (the one that matters). Zoomed photos look blurry and oversharpened, and even basic portrait shots need help.

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Motorola Razr Plus 2023 camera samples — I've blurred the kids that aren't mine, but mine is still too blurry (Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)

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All around, this phone has all the hallmarks of a low-quality camera. In photos of flowers, the camera blew out red tones until the details were mostly gone. Taking photos in the woods, stems and leaves in the background were either unnaturally blurry or digitally oversharpened, with deep black lines dividing objects.

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The one saving grace is that this low-quality main camera is still better quality than most selfie cameras, and the Motorola Razr Plus is made for using the main lens as your selfie shooter. You can easily use the external display as your viewfinder, and there are a couple tricks that let take a shot even if you aren’t holding the Razr. You can smile or wave your hand, with both options selectable as shortcuts in the camera settings.

Can I forgive bad photos if the process of taking photos is so much better? They say the best camera is the one you have with you, and more often than not that's going to be one of the best camera phones. I always carry a smartphone, but I found myself taking more photos with the Razr Plus – more selfies, and more unusual shots taking advantage of the angled flex of the display.

I also took more group shots, because people love seeing themselves in the external display viewfinder. It was one of the most delightful things about this phone when I was showing it off to friends. Foldable 6.9-inch display? Not impressed. Want to see yourself while I take your picture? OMG, YES!!!

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I want better cameras, though. Even Samsung skimps on the cameras in its Galaxy Z Flip 4, but I was especially disappointed here. The main camera uses a wide aperture lens, wider than any flip phone competitor and most other smartphones. It should be great at low-light photos, and it should produce a smoothly blurred backgrounds with attractive bokeh.

If it actually makes a difference, I couldn’t see it. I put the Motorola Razr Plus up against my iPhone 14 Pro, and there wasn’t a single photo from the main camera that was better, unless I was comparing it to one from the selfie camera on the iPhone.

I can forgive most of the Razr Plus’ faults, but the poor camera performance is hard to swallow. I enjoyed taking more selfies and delighting friends with the external display camera tricks, but I need at least a partly competent zoom lens for school functions and the occasional bird sighting. The Motorola Razr Plus 2023 is great for selfies, but otherwise getting great shots will be a matter of luck, not technical advantage.

Camera score: 3 / 5

Motorola Razr Plus review: software

Useful clocks and widgets for the external screen
Most apps will run on both displays
Useful Motorola gestures and shortcuts

I can tell you the exact moment that I realized the Motorola Razr Plus was something entirely new. I was out hiking with my dog, expecting to use the Razr for photos and fitness tracking. I downloaded my maps to AllTrails as I always do, and as I hiked I checked my maps and recorded my progress.

Normally I obsessively check my phone maps to make sure I’m on track, finding the best and easiest routes to keep the dog and kiddo interested. Every time, I feel like I’m interrupting my hike with my technology – but not with the Razr Plus. Using the external display, I could simply glance at my AllTrails map without opening the phone. Everything worked, including the high-definition map, the progress tracking, and all of the other apps I had running at the same time.

It wasn’t like having a phone on my hike; it was like having a pocket-sized map device. And while I’ve never had a pocket-sized map device, this was much nicer and more convenient than a big smartphone. In this context it becomes a whole new device, and a whole new experience.

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When I go to the grocery store, I’m not lighting up my smartphone every time I need to check my list; I can just keep my list on the external display. Now I have a pocket-sized shopping list device too. A smartphone is big and obnoxious and distracting; this is quick and unobtrusive. I check the box on my Google Keep Notes shopping list, then flip to Spotify or Apple Music (yes, on Android). It all works great on the external display, and I don't need to open my phone.

For almost every app on the phone, you can set how it behaves when you close the display. An app can do nothing, or it can appear automatically on the external screen. You can also have apps 'tap to transition' giving you agency over whether they become available on the cover screen on an ad-hoc basis with a single button press. Every app can be set with its own behavior.

Not every app works perfectly. I tried to play Marvel Snap, a game that's designed for portrait mode. It ran just fine on the square external display, but the text was too small (though legible), and the layout was weird. It worked, it just wasn’t optimal.

More apps work well and look good than not, though. I had no trouble scrolling my feeds in Slack, Facebook, Instagram, and other social apps. I could read web pages in Chrome, or browse Yelp with the display shut. There’s a keyboard if you really need to type, but that's obviously easier with the screen open.

Other than on the external screen, Motorola's software hews very close to Google’s own designs for Android, as you’ll find on the Pixel 7 Pro, for instance. There aren’t many new tweaks or improvements for this new Razr, but that’s fine. I’d like to see some aspects of the experience improved, but it’s already mature, and doesn’t overload you with features or pop-up windows.

I like Motorola’s gestures and use them frequently. On Moto phones you can twist your hand back and forth to open the camera, and on the Razr Plus this works even when the display is closed. You can make a couple of quick karate-chop motions to turn the flashlight on and off. These gestures work well, and I used them often once I'd committed them to memory.

The Motorola Razr Plus comes with Android 13 preloaded, and we expect three major OS updates for this phone, which should take it to Android 16. Google is launching its own folding phone this month, the Google Pixel Fold, so it’s an interesting time for folding phones, and hopefully Google’s own improvements will trickle down to other Android foldables.

Software score: 4 / 5

Motorola Razr Plus review: performance

Fast performance for games and running both displays
Improved performance over last year
Same chipset as the Razr 2022 and Galaxy Z Flip 4

If all you care about are benchmark scores, the Motorola Razr Plus won’t be the phone to pick. Thankfully, real-world performance tells a different story than I expected from the specs, and even though this phone uses the same platform as last year (or perhaps because it does), it performs better than the previous Razr, and better than I expected.

Inside, the Razr Plus is nearly identical to the Motorola Razr 2022. They both use the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, and 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and in the year since the Razr 2022 was launched, Moto has clearly done some work to optimize its software. We complained in our Razr 2022 review that it stuttered while playing games or switching to the external display, but I had no performance complaints at all during my review period with the Razr Plus. It ran smoothly no matter what I was doing, whether playing new games like the highly-detailed Marvel Snap or shooting video with the flex mode video camera.

Motorola Razr Plus camera app — (Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)

The Razr Plus was impressively responsive. When I used the camera, I set the phone to snap when it detected a smile, and it responded almost instantaneously whenever anyone so much as smirked. When I clapped the phone shut, the external display lit up with no delay, and apps switched smoothly from one screen to the other without hesitation.

It’s likely that the Motorola Razr base model will see more of a sacrifice performance-wise, as it relies on a mid-level Snapdragon 7 chipset. The Razr Plus uses a flagship platform, and the fact that there’s been a Snapdragon update since it was launched doesn’t diminish its performance. It’s a very fast chipset, and Motorola has clearly learned how to make the best use of it.

Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Motorola Razr Plus review: battery

Slightly larger battery than Galaxy Z Flip 4
Battery life could be better
Using two displays drains the battery faster, go figure

Motorola has done the best it could in fitting a large battery inside the thin folding shell of the Razr Plus. It's even managed to fit a larger battery into the folding frame than you’ll find in the iPhone 14 Pro, though Apple manages power slightly better. I couldn’t quite make it through a full day on a full charge with the Motorola Razr Plus, though that's probably because the phone was just so much fun to use.

Having a dynamic and useful external display meant that I used the phone a lot more than I would a flip phone that's dark and motionless when it’s shut. Even when I wasn’t checking my hiking trails or keeping up with Slack chats, I just liked having the clock and screen saver active. It looks cute, and I don’t mind charging my phone a little more often as a trade-off for a bit of cuteness.

That said, the Razr Plus would benefit from faster charging. The 30W charging capability is fine, though Moto doesn’t give you a charger in the box (they sent one with my review unit). You can charge the phone wirelessly if you have a lot of spare time, as the Razr Plus charges at a trickling 5W, a fraction of the 15W wireless you’ll find as standard on the best smartphones.

If you need extra power, you might want to wait until the base model Motorola Razr shows up. It will have a slightly larger battery inside, a benefit of foregoing the cool external display in favor of a smaller display strip. Having used the Razr Plus for a while, though, I’d rather have the external screen and charge more often.

If I'd wanted the Moto Razr Plus to last longer I could have turned off the screensaver clocks and engaged power management, but I didn’t do that, I let it drain. I was having too much fun.

Battery score: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Motorola Razr Plus?

Buy it if...

You’ve been waiting for phones to get cool again
If you’ve been telling yourself “I’ll buy a new phone when there’s a reason to buy something new,” you now have that reason.

You want a small phone but need a big screen
The Motorola Razr Plus is the thinnest flip phone when folded shut, and has the biggest display when open. It's bigger on the inside than the others, and you don’t need to be a Time Lord to appreciate the magic.

You aren’t addicted to your iPhone
Seriously, what’s stopping you from buying a cool phone? Are you really addicted to blue bubbles and the Dynamic Island? Try something cooler, I promise you’ll like it.

Don't buy it if...

You need a great camera phone
The Motorola Razr Plus has forgivable flaws, but the cameras aren’t among them. They're pretty lousy for regular photos, although selfies benefit from using the main lens.

You’re going to get it wet
The Moto Razr Plus is more dust resistant than other flip phones, but less water resistant than the Galaxy Z family devices, which can take a dunk.

You want to totally unplug and hang up
Unlike other flip phones, the Razr Plus doesn’t go to sleep when you hang up. It’s often even more fun when it’s closed, but wait for the base model Razr if you appreciate the joy of tuning out.

Motorola Razr Plus review: also consider

Note that this chart is going to change when Samsung launches the Galaxy Z Flip 5, and I’d also expect the Z Flip 4 to stay on the market for a while at a lower price.

If you're looking for other flip phones to consider alongside the Motorola Razr Plus, here are a few of options.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4
There’s no reason to buy the Galaxy Z Flip 4 over the Motorola Razr Plus right now, but if the price drops after the Flip 5 shows up, this could be a compelling bargain alternative.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 review

Motorola Razr 2023
Motorola hasn’t announced pricing or a release date for the base model Razr yet, but if the Razr Plus is too much phone for you, you’ll be able to get a less expensive version that gives you peace and quiet instead of a big external display.

Read all the Motorola Razr 2023 news

How I tested the Motorola Razr Plus

I've had the Motorola Razr Plus for two full weeks of testing
This was the only phone I used for the review period
I use benchmarking software, developer tools, and internal data collection

I used the Motorola Razr Plus as my primary phone for both business and personal use for a few weeks while writing this review. I used the Razr Plus in every way I imagined a typical user would want to use it. I took photos, played games, and used it for all of my social networking and communication needs. I used productivity apps and tools, mindfulness and health apps, and fitness apps on the phone.

I also used the Razr Plus with wearable devices, including the Pixel Buds Pro earbuds and my Pixel Watch. I used it with an Xbox gaming controller, my Honda and Kia cars, and numerous Bluetooth accessories.

We benchmark all the phones we test using standard benchmarking software, and we also perform internal testing on the phone’s performance and battery life. I used GFX Benchmark, PhoneTester Pro, and Geekbench, among other testing apps. I also access the developer options on Android phones for direct feedback on performance from the device itself.

During my review time with the Motorola Razr Plus I loaded all of the apps I normally use with my smartphone. I used it for maps and navigation, music and video playback, as well as for calls and messaging. I took lots of photos and videos, played games, and used the phone to take photos at special occasions, including my kid’s middle school graduation.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed June 2023

Nothing Phone 2a review: Distinctive design meets mid-range magic

4:05 pm | March 13, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Nothing Phones Phones | Tags: Google Pixel | Comments: Off

Nothing Phone 2a: Two-minute review

The Nothing Phone 2a aims to shake up the mid-range market, by taking some of the DNA of the Nothing Phone 2, but swapping out select higher-end components for scaled-back parts. The result is a phone that’s aimed at those who want a reliable device for day-to-day use in Nothing’s style but aren’t interested in higher performance and flagship features, that the higher price of the Phone 2 affords.

Back of Nothing Phone 2a — (Image credit: Future / James ide)

Although the Nothing Phone 2a has been scaled back versus the company's flagship, it’s still very much a Nothing phone. It provides a spacious and vibrant display, steeped in vivid colors and deep blacks; great for watching media and gaming.

Phone 2a’s custom MediaTek chip further enhances the experience, providing snappy performance that can handle any day-to-day tasks. The chip is also efficient enough to give you days of standard use, helped by the phone’s large 5,000mAh battery.

I still can’t get on board with the Glyph lighting system offered up by Nothing’s existing handsets, so the fact that it’s been cut-down on the Phone 2a didn’t bother me, although I missed the fill light it offered for portrait photography and its signature lighting design.

Front of Nothing Phone 2a — (Image credit: Future / James Ide )

The Nothing Phone 2a has a dual-camera setup, comprising a 50MP primary camera and a 50MP ultra-wide camera. It offers mostly true-to-life colors and a decent amount of detail, and I was left impressed by how it managed in low-light conditions; keeping pictures bright while also stopping them from looking overprocessed.

It provides decent performance for its price range, however, it faces tough competition from the Google Pixel 7a, which offers superior image quality and editing tools. Although the camera may not match competitors in a slightly higher price range, it still delivers decent results for everyday use.

While I preferred the design of the original Phone 1, the Phone 2a’s enhancements are hard to ignore. It gets the fundamentals right – such as a great display, long battery life, and a clean and fast user experience – making it a compelling choice for budget-conscious buyers.

Overall, the Nothing Phone 2a is a breath of fresh air in a market saturated with mundane cheap smartphones. Behind its unconventional glossy plastic design, it’s one of the most solid and sensible affordable phones on the market.

Nothing Phone 2a review: Price and availability

Announced March 5, on sale March 12
Priced from $349 / £319 /AU$675
Cheaper than Google Pixel 7a and Samsung Galaxy A54
Limited US availability at launch

The Nothing Phone 2a launched on March 5 and is now available in Nothing's homeland of the UK (as well as many other markets across Europe), while US availability is limited. This means Stateside buyers will need to sign up for Nothing's developer program if they want to be in with a chance of getting the phone for themselves.

If you can get hold of it, the Phone 2a is very affordable for what it offers; priced from £319 for 8GB RAM and 128GB storage and$349 / £349 /AU$675 for 12GB with 256GB storage, which puts it in the same price range as the Samsung Galaxy A54 and Honor Magic 6 Lite.

Value score: 4 / 5

Nothing Phone 2a review: Specs

Nothing phone 2a review: Design

Nothing Phone 2a back of device with Glyph lights on — (Image credit: Future / James Ide)

Modern, minimal design
Glyph lighting system
IP53-certified

One of the most significant changes of the Phone 2a is its new design, which is a slight but irrefutable departure from the look established by both previous Nothing Phones. The stripped-back glyph lighting, plastic build, and moved camera all make it clear the Nothing Phone 2a is a very different device from its predecessors.

It retains the flat-edged aesthetic, curved frame, and semi-transparent back that Nothing phones are known for.

The unique Glyph system is still present – albeit in a more cut-down form that only takes up the top third of the phone, comprising three LED elements surrounding the rear camera module. It still provides soft, fill lighting when using the camera but is considerably weaker than the more comprehensive Glyph systems on past models.

Despite this more modest Glyph lighting, the Phone 2a’s back can still offer visual cues for notifications and ringtones without you needing to look at the screen, while the Glyph timer returns to tick down on that perfect soft boiled egg. One of my favorite Glyph features is third-party integration with apps like Uber, and this works seamlessly on the Phone 2a, just as it does on Nothing’s other phones. It works much like the timer function and provides a visual time, with one LED slowly lighting up as your car gets closer, however, it only works if your phone is face down on the table.

The lower half of the phone’s back, meanwhile, looks like an asymmetrical ribbon cable; only there to serve the Phone 2a’s distinct aesthetic. It’s harder to appreciate the details on our review device as, unlike the Phone 2’s gray finish, Nothing has once again opted for a true black color, rendering fine design details a little too dark, but these visual tidbits are at least more visible on the white and Milk finishes.

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Nothing Phone 1 Nothing Phone 2a Nothing Phone 2 Glyph lighting on — (Image credit: Future | James Ide)

Nothing Phone 1 (left), Nothing Phone 2a (center), Nothing Phone 2 (right)

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Nothing Phone 1 Nothing Phone 2a Nothing Phone 2 Glyph lighting on closeup — (Image credit: Future | James Ide)

Nothing Phone 1 (left), Nothing Phone 2a (center), Nothing Phone 2 (right)

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Nothing Phone 1 (left), Nothing Phone 2a (center), Nothing Phone 2 (right)

The other most prominent change from Nothing’s existing phones is the 2a’s camera module, which has ditched the vertical layout and moved from the top left, as on Phone 1 and 2. The Phone 2a places the camera module in the center of the upper third of the phone’s back, as part of a slightly raised pill-shaped bump, which looks like a pair of eyes, giving the phone a retro robot look.

The mostly-polycarbonate build of Phone 2a renders it lightweight for its size and more shatter resistant than its glass-backed siblings, but plastic is plastic and is more prone to scratching in everyday use. It isn’t as slippery or likely to slide off surfaces as the Phone 2’s pillowed glass back is either. Nothing claims that the 2a is more scratch-resistant than the glass used on the previous models, and I didn’t notice any nicks or scratches in my time with it, however, it does pick up fingerprints, dust, and smudges easily, which could be annoying for some. The frame is made of recycled aluminum coated in the same polycarbonate used elsewhere across the body, providing more texture and an easier grip than some glasses back phones I’ve used in the past.

Like the full-fat Phone 2, the 2a comes IP54 certified, meaning it can handle some dust ingress and splashes but you won’t want it to get completely submerged. It does, however, mark an improvement on the original Phone 1’s IP53 protection. While different from both Phone 1 and Phone 2, Nothing’s strong design aesthetic – influenced by architecture and graphic design, with its bold shapes and lines – is on full display here. While I like its new retro–technological design, I still prefer the cleaner finish of Phones 1 and 2.

Design score: 3.5 / 5

Nothing Phone 2a review: Display

Spider-man playing on the Nothing Phone 2a — (Image credit: Future / James Ide )

6.78-inch 1.5K 120Hz AMOLED display
Peak brightness up to 1,300nits
91.65% screen-to-body ratio

As with Phone 1 and Phone 2, the display is one of the Phone 2a's best features and stands out within its price range. The large panel provides an impressive 91.65% screen-to-body ratio (pricier rivals like the Galaxy A54 top out at just 82.9%), and offers strong contrast and sharp image quality, making it a joy to use. The 6.7-inch flexible AMOLED screen supports an adaptive refresh rate of between 30 and 120Hz; preserving battery life when needed, and then ramping up to higher refresh rates when playing supported games. It doesn’t rely on LTPO technology – like the Phone 2 – so can’t drop down as low (for even greater power saving), but it isn’t bad for its price range.

It also supports a resolution of 2412 x 1080 (that’s 394ppi), HDR10+ compatibility and 10-bit color depth, which delivers sharp, high-contrast images; making it great for watching films or gaming.

The screen is framed by small and evenly sized 2.1mm bezels on all sides that look clean and aren’t too distracting, while the panel itself is also protected by Gorilla Glass 5 (the same as Nothing’s other phones). The front-facing camera has moved from the top, left-hand corner to the top-center of the screen, while an optical in-display fingerprint sensor sits low and close to the bottom edge of the panel. The sensor also seemed faster and more reliable than the sensor used on Phone 1. It also used Face unlock but that wasn’t as consistent at unlocking the phone quickly.

Peak brightness is cited at 1,300 nits (trumping the Phone 1), however, most of the time you’ll experience a peak of 1,100 nits in sunny conditions, where the phone jumps to high brightness mode to remain comfortably visible. In testing, when using my phone at night, it dimmed down enough to avoid hurting my eyes too.

Display score: 4 / 5

Nothing Phone 2a review: Software

Nothing Phone 2a in the hand showing Nothing OS 2.5 — (Image credit: Future / James Ide)

Android 14 with Nothing OS 2.5 on top
A few pre-installed apps
Strong visual identity

The Phone 2a comes running Nothing OS 2.5 out the box, which is based on Android 14. The company’s user experience stands out from the crowd due to its strong visual identity and otherwise near-stock Android 14 qualities, making for a stylish and well-featured interface that doesn’t feel overwhelming.

The distinctive graphic, dot matrix-inspired look – with unique widgets, stylized app icons, and near-monochrome palette, all make a return, as do retro notification sounds that take me back to the nineties.

There are a few included apps, like Nothing X – which lets you configure your Nothing Ear 2 buds, and the Glyph Composer – which lets you put your own Glyph animations to music, but unlike many other devices, the Phone 2a isn’t riddled with pre-installed bloatware.

It’s supported by three years of software and four years of security updates, which is lower than Samsung's four major OS upgrades on the Galaxy A54 but better than the Honor Magic 6 Lite, which provides only two updates. The Phone 2a also includes some unique features not included on either Phone 1 or 2. The first of these is Smart Clean, which automatically removes duplicate and temporary fragments of files. This feature uses AI prediction and becomes active in the background when the device is charging, with the intention of staving off the minor slowdowns that happen over time, ensuring the 2a runs at peak performance for longer.

Nothing has introduced a RAM Booster feature as well, which augments the existing RAM with internal storage to act as virtual RAM. This results in the ability to open more apps and reopen them quicker when still active in the background. Although standard on mid-range and even some flagship devices – as a way to enhance their RAM capabilities – it’s worth noting it’s not currently available on Phone 1 or Phone 2. Whether a subsequent update will change that remains to be seen.

NTFS optimization is another new feature, providing faster transfer speeds when moving files from a Windows PC to the Nothing Phone 2a. This is a pretty niche feature that most won’t notice or care about, but if you’re old school like me and still keep a lot of your music as MP3 files, you’ll appreciate those faster transfers.

Software score: 4 / 5

Nothing Phone 2a review: Cameras

The back of the Nothing Phone 2a — (Image credit: Future / James Ide)

50MP main, 50MP ultra-wide
32MP selfie camera
Redesigned camera module compared to Phone 1 & 2

For photography, the Nothing Phone 2a offers a dual camera setup on the back: a 50MP primary sensor and a 50MP ultra-wide sensor. In a nutshell, these cameras are ‘okay’ but aren’t especially bright or sharp, and save for the occasional hiccup when opening the camera app, focusing and capturing feels fast enough.

By default, the rear cameras capture 12MP stills, which are serviceable for the likes of social media, if unremarkable. You can set the phone to shoot in 50MP, increasing the amount of detail captured, but this locks your focal length, leaving you unable to zoom in a similar trade-off from the previous model; making it less versatile.

Details were okay at 12MP a distance but couldn’t hold up to close inspection. Some photos showed the camera struggling to capture a deeper dynamic range, leaving some elements of photos too dark or blown out.

Nothing Phone 2a camera samples

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Sample photos from Nothing Phone 2a — (Image credit: Future / James Ide )

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Like most phone cameras without a telephoto sensor, image quality drops significantly when zooming in all the way, with the phone’s attempts at sharpening in post only making resultant images look worse.

Colors appear saturated and strong, but sometimes shots come out woefully underexposed. This was especially apparent in one particular shot I took, with bright greens and yellows, that appeared dark and moody.

Low-light performance makes for a pleasant surprise, especially with the 2a’s primary camera. It’s aided by OIS (optical image stabilization) to help mitigate and prevent too much motion blur, so w. While I could tell my night images had been enhanced in camera, they still looked relatively natural.

The front camera looks to be an upgrade from the Phone 1’s 16MP snapper to a 32MP sensor, which helps capture greater detail when chatting on video calls and taking selfies.

Camera score: 3.5 / 5

Nothing Phone 2a review: Performance

Call of duty mobile running on Nothing Phone 2a — (Image credit: Future / James Ide)

Good performance for a mid-range phone
Very power efficient
RAM Booster

Nothing has moved away from Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipsets for the Phone 2a; instead turning to the MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro. This custom chip offers a modest jump in performance from the previous Snapdragon 778G used in Phone 1.

Nothing claims the Phone 2a offers an 18% improvement in performance compared to its predecessor, built on a more efficient 4-nanometer process. The company accounts for this uptick through better software and hardware integration, but I didn’t see any dramatic improvements in normal use, save for gaming performance and battery life.

Day-to-day use was generally swift, with most apps snappy and responsive, however, the camera app sometimes took a few seconds to open up, which could be frustrating for those moments when all you have is a split-second to grab that perfect shot.

Benchmarks put its performance just behind Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7s Gen 2, which is used in the comparable Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro 5G; that said, I didn’t notice much difference between the two in regular use.

Gaming with the Nothing Phone 2a proved better than expected, considering the price point. Genshin Impact ran well at ‘medium’ to ‘high’ settings but did stutter when there was a lot of action and particle effects on screen. I also noticed the phone got warmer when playing the likes of Genshin and COD Mobile with ‘high’ settings enabled, but not nearly enough to feel uncomfortable or hinder performance.

I was surprised to see that Nothing didn’t include a microSD expansion slot, which still appears in some mid-range phones. This slot provides extra storage space and makes some budget phones even better value, but sadly in the case of the Phone 2a, you’re stuck with the onboard 128GB or 256GB of storage.

Performance score: 4 / 5

Nothing Phone 2a review: Battery

Close up of battery settings on the Nothing Phone 2a — (Image credit: Future / James Ide)

5,000mAh battery
USB-C cable, but no power adapter included
45W wired fast charging

The 2a comes equipped with Nothing's largest battery so far, a 5,000mAh unit that beats the Phone 1’s 4,500mAh cell and trumps the 2’s 4,700mAh power pack too. Nothing claims it provides around two days of use, and in my testing, I got an impressive 11 hours of screen-on time, which included browsing, gaming, and streaming video.

Fast charging up to 45W is also supported, which is an improvement over the Phone 1’s 33W however, no wireless features on the Phone 2a. It’s also worth noting that no charging brick is provided with the phone, so you’ll need to buy that separately (Nothing sells its own for $35 / £35 / AU$35).

The battery's longevity shouldn’t be a problem either; Nothing claims the Phone 2a’s cell is designed to weather 1,000 cycles while maintaining 90% of its original capacity, which is around three years of use; meaning this phone is in it for the long haul.

Battery score: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Nothing Phone 2a?

Buy it if...

You want a taste of Nothing for less
You want to try out the Nothing ecosystem without committing to a flagship device like Phone 2 or an older device that's about to be phased out, like the Phone 1.

You want an affordable all-rounder
If you're after an option that's cheaper than some of the better-known brands, like Samsung, but still offers great performance and features.

You want a phone that stands out
The 2a offers a unique design and OS that is eye-catching, to say the least. If you want something different and unique, designed to stand out amongst the crowd, while still offering high-quality performance, the 2a fits the bill.

Don't buy it if...

You need a phone that's durable and tough
The plastic body, while lightweight, is as resistant as the glass and metal of some phones. Water and dust resistance is also only IP54-certified, which isn't as protected as a lot of modern phones.

You want the full Nothing Phone experience
If you're after the full Glyph system, an even more eye-catching design and solid build, you'll have to pay more for something like the Phone 2, instead.

You want a performance-focused phone
The new MediaTek chip inside the 2a is only marginally faster than the Snapdragon that powers the Nothing Phone 1 and it can't handle heavy workloads or intensive gaming.

Nothing phone 2a review: Also consider

The Nothing Phone 2a is a compelling budget choice, however, it's not for everyone. Here are some alternatives:

How I tested the Nothing Phone 2a

Nothing Phone 2a box — (Image credit: Future / James Ide)

Review test period: 10 days
Testing included: everyday use including web browsing, photography, gaming, streaming video, music playback
Tools used: Geekbench 6, GFXBench, 3DMark, My Device Pro

I used the Nothing Phone 2a for ten days for this review, adding my own Google, video streaming, and social media accounts.

The phone was used to take photos and record videos, these were then analyzed on a PC. I watched both local and streamed video content from various streaming services too. Although performance was tested using publicly available benchmarking apps to meter the CPU and GPU, along with real-world use, though we don't always publish the results, we do take them into consideration and keep them on file for comparison with other devices.

Interestingly my Geekbench 6 scores show the older Nothing Phone 1 slightly outperforming the Phone 2a in multicore processing, but again, this didn’t really translate to any delay in real-world performance.

Battery usage was measured from fully charged down to zero in 15-minute increments. The Nothing 45W charger was used as no adapter is provided with this phone. The camera was tested in several different situations and conditions as part of the review process.

I have previously reviewed several smartphones including the Nothing Phone 1 and Nothing Phone 2, with the latter serving as my main phone since its release.

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Motorola Moto G84 review

9:29 pm | March 11, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Phones | Tags: Australia, Redmi Note, US | Comments: Off

Moto G84 two-minute review

Another day, another Moto G phone…

…and as usual, the Moto G84 is a surprisingly adept and reliable Android handset from one of the world’s most dedicated phone manufacturers, with Motorola continuing its forcible takeover of our round-up of the best cheap phones.

The latest entry in Motorola’s ever-growing G-line of low-cost mobiles, the G84 brings a few clear and concise arguments as to why it should be your next purchase, as well as a few wardrobes that it hopes you won’t be checking for skeletons.

First up, the Moto G84 is the company’s latest collaboration between Motorola and paint company Pantone, with one of its three colors designed by color experts. This is the Viva Magenta one that you can see pictured above, adorned in the shade that Pantone decided was its Color Of The Year 2023.

It's a distinctive shade (which may put some people off), and we’re big enough fans to add the vibrant and striking look to the ‘Pros’ list above. But for some reason, Moto decided to release two other color options, silver and black, which look pretty boring by comparison.

We go from one of the phone’s touted selling points to something Motorola is barely mentioning: the G84 is a powerhouse for gaming. While I’ve been disappointed by other mobiles brandishing the same Snapdragon 695 chipset used here, the Moto chews through gaming and other intensive tasks. If you’re a gamer on a budget, this is definitely a solid pick.

The Moto G84's home screen next to some festive cookies — (Image credit: Future)

It’s at this point in the review (less than a minute into the ‘two-minute review’, so pretty early on) that I should mention the Moto G73. This mobile, released in early 2023 and still ranged by most retailers including Moto itself, has lots of specs in common with the G84.

It has a lower price and the same camera array, same rough design, same software, same battery size, same charging speed and same screen size. Admittedly it’s screen quality is worse, it doesn’t have an under-display fingerprint scanner, it’s less powerful and it doesn’t catch the eye quite like this Viva Magenta-clad beast. But if you want to save some cash and don’t mind these tweaked features, it’s a very real competitor that may sway your attention.

‘Close competition’ is nothing new for Moto phones, given how many similar-looking budget mobiles it releases each year. Neither is my other major gripe with the handset: its cameras are anything but impressive, with photos that look a little dull and unexciting.

Picking up a Motorola phone and being surprised that its cameras aren’t amazing, is like picking up a dumbbell and being surprised it’s heavy – that trait is just par for the course. The cameras aren’t terrible either, they just won’t suit passionate smartphone-centric photographers.

And overall, the Moto G84 is a terribly impressive phone, when you consider its feisty look, gaming power and low price; it’ll just fit some users better than others.

Moto G84 review: price and availability

Released in September 2023
Costs £249.99 (roughly $315, AU$475)
Not for sale in US or Australia

The Moto G84 in the hand — (Image credit: Future)

The Moto G84 was released in the UK in mid-September 2023, after coming out in India and Europe in the weeks prior. It was joined by the low-end Moto G54 and premium-leaning Moto Edge 40 Neo.

You can pick up the phone for £249.99 (roughly $315, AU$475), which lodges it firmly in the category of ‘cheap Android phone’, perfect for people on a budget who want a reliable mobile. That’s Moto’s whole schtick, after all. There’s no information on a US or Australian launch, but they seem unlikely even several months after the phone's release.

Rivals at that price include Samsung’s Galaxy A23 5G, Redmi’s Note 12 5G, OnePlus' Nord CE 3 Lite and several of Motorola’s own mobiles, like the Moto G73 5G and Edge 40 Neo, which are all at roughly the same price point. But for its price and the performance it offers, the G84 is solidly good value.

Value score: 4 / 5

Moto G84 review: specs

The Moto G84 has many traits in common with other budget phones, but it exceeds its class in a few areas too.

Moto G84 review: design

Vibrant Pantone-designed red shell
Repositioned under-display fingerprint scanner
3.5mm headphone jack and USB-C port

The Moto G84 looking festive amongst some baked goods — (Image credit: Future)

Motorola isn’t exactly in the business of revolutionizing smartphone design (well, at least for its budget mobiles, though you can say what you like about the Moto Razr). So if you’ve seen a Moto G in the last few years you’ve seen the G84.

It’s a standard Android mobile measuring 160 x 74.4 x 7.6 mm – a few years ago we could’ve called it "a little on the big side" though you could probably consider it average now. It’s surprisingly light at 166.8g, which means the phone sits a little comfier in the hand than most phones with a flat edge.

You’ve got the usual accouterments of a Moto: a USB-C port and 3.5mm headphone jack underneath, a power button and volume rocker on the right edge. But Motorola has made one big adjustment in its budget phones of late, and that’s in replacing the side-mounted fingerprint scanner with a more premium under-display one. And it’s a great change too, as unlocking the phone is much easier than in previous Motos. The scanner is a bit lower down the phone than on most others, but it’s something I got used to.

There are three different color options for the Moto G84: a silver and a black option, and also an eye-catching red version called Viva Magenta. This latter was created by paint company Pantone, and it’d make the phone very attractive if it wasn’t for the big Pantone-logo color swatch on the bottom. You can’t remove this, it’s part of the phone.

Still, if the G84 was in a line-up of 10 random other phones, it’d be the most attractive one the vast majority of the time – its red is a little richer than Apple’s Product Red and the glossy alternatives some Chinese phones offer.

In terms of protection, you’re looking at IP54: it’s partly dust proofed but not against all solids, and is splash-proof but can’t be dunked in water. That's all to be expected at this price.

Design score: 3.5 / 5

Moto G84 review: display

Big 6.5-inch screen
FHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh
Automatic brightness issues

The Moto G84's front-facing camera — (Image credit: Future)

The Moto G84 has a 6.5-inch display, which is pretty average for a smartphone these days, but the Moto’s specs are anything but average.

The phone packs an FHD+ display (that’s 1080 x 2400) and a 120Hz refresh rate, which means the display updates its image 120 times per second, over the old standard of 60Hz. Lots of budget mobiles tout this spec now but certainly not all of them, and it brings a marked improvement when you’re scrolling around the menus.

Another unusual trait is the use of the DCI-P3 color gamut with over 1 billion colors – this was designed for use in movies and it makes videos look that little bit better than on another budget phone.

One other display feature worth flagging is that the punch-hole that houses the front-facing camera is very small, reducing the amount of screen space you’re losing from it.

A small issue I had with the phone was with its display and the automatic brightness features. Often, the phone would default to a screen brightness that was just too low, and I frequently had to manually adjust it to be able to make out the display.

Display score: 3.5 / 5

Moto G84 review: software

Stock Android 13 is clean
Useful Moto Actions return
Plenty of customization options

When you boot up the Moto G84, it’ll come running stock Android 13 – that was the current OS when the mobile launched, though Android 14 started rolling out just weeks later. The G84 is only confirmed for one software update too, so Android 14 is all you’ll definitely get, though you’ll be able to enjoy at least three years’ security updates.

Stock Android is always fairly clean, at least compared to some other Android forks, but some bloatware has snuck into the Moto. There’s TikTok, LinkedIn and three simple games – it’s nothing too offensive, and if you’ve used one of the budget phones from another brand you might have used something a lot worse, but it’s still not ideal.

Moto phones have always been great for software customization, even before Google made it an official Android feature, and there’s no difference here. You have plenty of choice in terms of font, color scheme, icon shape, animations and more – if you like diving into the settings and then tweaking the nitty-gritty of how your phone looks, you’ll love this phone.

A returning feature exclusive to Moto phones are Moto Actions, which are easy navigation tricks that I find myself using a lot. Examples include a double karate-chop motion to quickly turn on the torch and a twisting shake to open the camera app. They take a little getting used to, but once you’ve got the knack for them, they’re incredibly handy.

Software score: 4 / 5

Moto G84: cameras

50MP main and 8MP ultra-wide cameras
Some extra features like Spot Color
16MP front-facing camera for selfies

The Moto G84's camera bump — (Image credit: Future)

The camera department is an area that Motorola phones rarely excel in, and there’s no exception here. The phone uses up its ‘color’ budget on its exterior shell and there’s none left for its photos…

The main snapper is a 50MP f/1.9 unit and it’s joined by a single 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide companion. On the front, you’re looking at a 16MP f/2.5 selfie camera. That’s not exactly a revolutionary combo for Moto, which used the exact same line-up in the Moto G73 from earlier in the year.

Pictures taken on the main camera looked fine – that nondescript word is the best way to describe them – with fair sharpness but a lack of vibrancy or color that made me miss Samsung’s or Xiaomi’s handsets.

Flip onto the ultra-wide camera and you’re getting pretty grainy pictures – it’s an 8MP sensor, what did you expect – though not straight away. No, the secondary snapper was surprisingly slow to focus when I pressed the icon in the camera app, and I often found myself waiting a few moments for it to sharpen the image.

You can also use the ultra-wide camera for macro (close-up) shots, but this suffers from the issue that all wide-angle-macro phone photos do: it’s rounded and distorted thanks to the lens type. No thanks!

There’s no zoom lens on the Moto G84, so you have to use its 8x digital zoom to get closer to a subject. But I’d really recommend you don’t, unless you want your photo to be as grainy as spot art.

Grainy is also the word to use for pictures captured on the front camera, which is a surprising twist as some Motos redeem themselves on their selfie abilities. They'll be fine for sending between phones, especially with bokeh working well in Portrait mode, but if you look at selfies on any bigger screen you'll see the pixels clearly.

When capturing video, you can shoot at 1080p, with no 4K option. There’s also a slow-mo option as well as dual capture (front and back cameras at once) and Spot Color, which lets you isolate a single color in your recording. These latter two options are also available for photography.

Camera score: 2.5 / 5

Moto G84 camera samples

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A coffee photographed on the Moto G84 — This 'standard' shot of a coffee looks a little dull in the froth and colorful plates. (Image credit: Future)

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A pint captured on the Moto G84 — This photo came out bizarrely yellow. (Image credit: Future)

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A street shot on the Moto G84 — Here's a standard snap of a street, so you can contrast to the next pic... (Image credit: Future)

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A street captured on the Moto G84's ultra-wide camera. — ...here's that same street in ultra-wide. (Image credit: Future)

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A christmassy table captured on the G84 — This festive outlook also looks a little duller than what another phone would capture. (Image credit: Future)

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A selfie on the Moto G84 — If you were to zoom in close to the face, you'd see it's quite grainy (but please don't!). (Image credit: Future)

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The Moto Edge 40 Neo captured on the Moto G84 — I captured the G84's contemporary, the Edge 40 Neo, so you can see how it picks up color. (Image credit: Future)

Moto G84: performance and audio

Snapdragon 695 chip exceeds expectations
12GB RAM and 256GB storage
3.5mm headphone jack and Bluetooth 5.1

The Moto G84 packs the Snapdragon 695, and anyone who’s used a phone using this chipset knows what to expect: fine everyday performance, but a lackluster showing when used for gaming or intensive processes. That's how this exact same chip worked in the recent OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite, and gaming was a slog.

In a pleasantly surprising plot twist, the G84 bucks expectations: it runs a lot faster than you’d think. In fact, through our rigorous gaming tests, it proved itself as one of the most reliable low-budget phones for gaming.

When playing titles like Call of Duty: Mobile and PUBG Mobile, the phone could be relied on to get through a match without lags, stutters or freezes – in fact, the G84 beat many gaming phones in that it didn’t even overheat!

This may be thanks to the 12GB RAM you’re getting, a surprising amount for a phone at this price. The 256GB storage is also laudable – this is a phone that’ll last you a long time, and even if you do manage to fill the device’s onboard storage, the microSD card slot will keep you going for even longer.

If you’re into your facts and figures, a benchmark test through Geekbench 6 returned a multi-core average score of 2,037. That middling score shows that this phone is no supercomputer that’ll land a spaceship on the sun or predict the future, but for the price, I was very surprised.

Onto audio – this is par for the course for a Moto phone. There’s a 3.5mm headphone jack for wired music and Bluetooth 5.1 for wireless. The onboard stereo speaker is nothing to write home about, but it’s not so tinny that voice calls or memos are affected.

Performance score: 4 / 5

Moto G84 review: battery life

Large 5,000mAh battery
Over a day's use from a single charge
30W charging isn't particularly fast

The Moto G84's ports looking festive amongst some baked goods — (Image credit: Future)

If there’s one thing a Motorola phone can be relied on to have, even more than a confusing name, great customization or that distinctive sound when you first boot it up, it’s a long-lasting battery life.

No surprise, then, that the Moto G84’s 5,000mAh battery lasts a long time. You can use it to get through a day of use with no issue, and in our tests it lasted well into a second day before the charging cable needed to come out.

That charging cable gets you powering at 30W, so it’s not particularly fast, not when rival budget mobiles hit 50W, 67W or higher. You’re looking at charging times just shy of an hour, or more if you’re using the thing as you power it.

There’s no wireless charging here, but at that price, no-one should be surprised.

Battery score: 3.5 / 5

Should you buy the Moto G84?

Buy it if...

You like the color
As soon as you opened this review and saw the header image, you came to a quick conclusion on its distinctive color. If that reaction was positive, then for sure, go for it!

You’re a budget gamer
Honestly, if I didn’t already have a phone, I’d consider the G84 just for its gaming chops alone – it plays games just as well as a handset that’d cost you twice as much.

You need a reliable budget device
Moto's G phones are always dependable low-cost Androids that'll last you a long time, and if you're not fussy about certain premium features, they're always great picks.

Don't buy it if...

The Moto G73 is fine for you
The G84 has many specs in common with the G73, yet costs more – if you don’t mind screen quality and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, you’ll be happy and have more cash with the older phone!

You’re a phone photographer
If there’s one cut corner with the G84, its the lackluster camera performance. If you love taking pictures all the time with your phone, you can do better than this handset.

You care about software updates
Software fanatics out there might raise an eyebrow at Moto's limited software update promise. If you want new Android versions for years to come, you might want to opt for another brand's phones.

Moto G84 review: Also consider

If you're looking for Android phones at the Moto G84's price, you've got loads of rivals to consider. Here are a few:

OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite
A bigger screen, higher-res main camera and fast charging are balanced out by a higher price, weaker gaming chops and a bulkier build in this recent rival from OnePlus.

Redmi Note 12 Pro
Xiaomi is a strong budget phone rival with its spec-heavy Redmi mobiles, and the 12 Pro is an example. Lots of specs in common with the G84 but more processing power.

How I tested the Moto G84

Review test period = 2 week
Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
Tools used = Geekbench 5, Geekbench 6, Geekbench ML, GFXBench, native Android stats

As you can tell from my review and the images, I tested the Moto G84 in its Pantone-endorsed Viva Magenta colorway. It felt fitting to test this festive-looking mobile during winter, hence the Christmas baking images!

Before true testing commenced I set up the phone to let the battery use settle, then used it as a standard mobile for two weeks. This included all the tasks you'd use your mobile for: social media, photography and streaming.

I also used it for gaming a lot. In fact, it was so snappy and fast for this task, alongside its lovely display, that I was loathe to move onto the next handset I'm testing for TechRadar!

My tech review history spans five years for TechRadar, and more for other brands. I used to work as an editor and writer for the site, covering phones, tablets and wearables (as well as a wide range of other gadgets), and continue to write freelance reviews across many types of gadget.

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First reviewed December 2023

Nubia Z60 Ultra review: Unrefined power

10:18 pm | February 23, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Phones | Tags: Google Pixel | Comments: Off

Nubia Z60 Ultra: Two-minute review

The Nubia brand might not be overly familiar here in the West, but this ZTE offshoot has quietly been carving out a niche in recent years with its surprisingly affordable Red Magic gaming phones.

However, the Nubia Z60 Ultra represents something slightly different. It takes many of the Red Magic 9 Pro’s hardware features and seeks to apply them to a more mainstream flagship phone. The result is a super-sized handset with impressive performance, a huge battery, and a surprisingly fully featured camera system, for less than $600/£700. That said, the mainstream smartphone space is a much more hotly contested market, with customers who have come to expect finesse and balance from the best phones out there.

There’s no getting away from the fact that the Nubia Z60 Ultra’s brash looks will put many off. Not to mention, it’s big and unusually heavy, while its industrial design language feels somewhat clumsy.

The phone’s large 6.8-inch AMOLED is of decent quality, and there’s some appeal to the combination of minimal bezels and no notch. Nubia has achieved this by cramming the phone’s front camera behind its display, which unfortunately means that selfie quality is awful. Again, this is something that’s less forgivable in a ‘regular’ smartphone.

Thankfully, the rest of the cameras are pretty decent for the money. The main Sony IMX800 sensor picks out bright, detailed shots in a variety of conditions, while the 64MP 3.3x periscope camera is a rare provision in the sub-$600/£700 market.

Nubia Z60 Ultra review back — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

General performance is unimpeachable, with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 tackling intensive tasks such as games with consummate ease. A strong cooling provision means that the Z60 Ultra can sustain its performance over extended periods, too.

Perhaps the Nubia Z60 Ultra’s defining feature is its huge 6,000mAh battery. True, it’s what gives the phone its unusual weight, but it also ensures full two-day usage potential. While 80W charging is pretty decent, however, it’s a shame that there’s no wireless charging.

Another slight drawback is Nubia’s take in an Android user experience: myOS. It’s functional and slightly less cluttered than its Red Magic cousin, but it lacks the finesse of rival UIs, and is only set to receive three years of updates, where Apple and Samsung offer double or more.

All in all, the Nubia Z60 Ultra feels slightly less than the sum of its parts. It offers a very strong package on paper, with a number of ultra-flagship specs for around half the price. However, it doesn’t quite feel like an entirely cohesive or complete product.

Qualities that made for an excellent value smartphone in the Red Magic 9 Pro don’t quite translate to a convincing ‘normal’ phone. With a little more refinement, however, Nubia could be onto something with the Z60 Ultra’s successors.

Nubia Z60 Ultra review: Price and availability

From $599 / £679 / €679 (no official AU$ price, Australian buyers will have to buy through Nubia's global online store in US$)
Shipping from December 29, 2023
Three models available globally

The Nubia Z60 Ultra began shipping on December 29, 2023. Prices officially start from $599 / £679 / €679 for the 8GB RAM / 256GB storage model, while the 12GB RAM / 256GB model costs $649 / £749 / €749, and the 16GB RAM / 512GB range-topper costs $779 / £899 / €899 (that's a range of approximately AU$910 to AU$1,180, when converting from USD directly).

In some markets, including the UK, only the top two models are available to purchase from the Nubia website at the time of writing. However, US buyers can snap up that baseline 8GB RAM variant right now too, for less.

It’s difficult to find a comparable phone in terms of supersized flagship(ish) specs at around the same price. The OnePlus 12R is perhaps its closest contemporary, sporting a broadly similar display, albeit packing 2023 chip technology and omitting the telephoto camera.

Google’s Pixel 8 starts from $699 / £699 / AU$1,199, and doesn’t give you the same supersized display or telephoto camera, nor does it give you the same level of performance. It does have wireless charging, though.

Value score: 4 / 5

Nubia Z60 Ultra review: Specs

Nubia Z60 Ultra review: Design

Nubia Z60 Ultra review back angled — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

Flat-edged and very heavy
Slightly convoluted pro-camera aesthetic
Mappable shortcut slider
IP68 rated against dust and water

You have to hand it to Nubia – it’s certainly gone big and bold with the Z60 Ultra’s design. This is a chunky beast of a phone, with an aesthetic approach you could possibly call ‘industrial’, if you were being polite.

It’s incredibly heavy, even relative to other larger flagships. At 246g, it’s closer to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 (253g) than the Galaxy S24 Ultra (232g).

The phone’s 8.8mm thick, blocky, flat-edged approach clearly shares some DNA with Nubia’s Red Magic gaming phone sub brand. That’s fine in a phone that by its nature prioritizes cooling and a comfortable handheld gaming experience, but it feels less defensible here.

Even the physical sliding switch from the Red Magic 9 Pro makes the transition, here repurposed as a mappable context-sensitive shortcut button. It’s a nice thing to have to hand, but I’m not keen on the binary nature of the switch, which simply changes to the opposite state when flipped. Similar switches from Apple and OnePlus will attribute a sound profile function to a specific position.

Nubia Z60 Ultra review side — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

Weight aside, I suspect that the back of the phone will prove the most divisive element here. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but to my eyes the Z60 Ultra’s camera module is flat-out ugly.

The whole triple array sits on a square slab that’s slightly raised above the body of the phone. Only the ultra-wide camera lays flush with this element, however, with the circular wide camera gaining further height and a red surround. The periscope camera gets its own rectangular slab of a module. It’s all a bit of a mish mash.

With the camera module’s ‘Neo Vision’ red dot branding and choice of black or silver finishes, it’s almost as if Nubia is attempting to emulate Leica’s pro camera look. It doesn’t quite work.

The front of the Z60 Ultra is much more subtle. Nubia has gone with a similar all-screen approach to the Red Magic 9 Pro, with minimal bezels and a fractionally thicker chin.

Despite shooting for such a competitive price point, it’s good to see that Nubia has included IP68-certified dust and water ingress protection. It’s far from a given, even at this price.

Design score: 3 / 5

Nubia Z60 Ultra review: Display

Nubia Z60 Ultra review front — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

6.8-inch AMOLED
2480 x 1116 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate
Under-display selfie camera

Nubia appears to have brought its 6.8-inch AMOLED display across from the Red Magic 9 Pro too. It’s another 2480 x 1116 resolution, 120Hz panel, with a stated peak brightness of 1,500nits.

That’s well short of some of the 2024 flagship crowd (the Galaxy S24 range hits 2,600nits, for example), but it still gets plenty bright enough in daily use. PWM Dimming at 2160Hz, meanwhile, is hard to measure but is designed to be easier on your eyes.

You’ll notice the same lack of a front camera notch as on the brand's Red Magic phones. Nubia is one of the few that likes to go with an under-display solution, which results in gloriously unobstructed landscape video and gaming content at the expense of even halfway decent selfies (more on which later).

Like the aforementioned Red Magic 9 Pro, Nubia has used BOE’s Q9+ luminescent material for a punchier color output. Sure enough, the color output is nice and natural, at least on the Normal setting. Nubia supplies reasonably flexible system for tweaking the tone to your liking, too.

Display score: 4 / 5

Nubia Z60 Ultra review: Camera

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Nubia Z60 Ultra review camera UI — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

50MP ‘35mm’ main with OIS (optical image stabilization)
64MP ‘85mm’ periscope telephoto
50MP ‘18mm’ ultra-wide
Awful 12MP under-display selfie camera

One of the most impressive things about the Nubia Z60 Ultra – given its aggressive pricing – is the provision of a comprehensive triple camera system. Nubia uses the 35mm, 85mm, and 18mm focal length names for these, which is classic photography terminology, and there’s OIS backup for each.

This system is led by a 50MP Sony IMX800 main sensor, which is the same 1/1.49-inch component that you’ll find in the likes of the Xiaomi 13, Honor 70, and the Honor Magic Vs. It’s not a cutting edge component, but it lends a certain flagship flavour to many of its images.

Day time shots pack a suitable amount of detail and dynamic range, with vibrant (but not too unnatural) colors. Snaps taken in lesser indoors lighting remain nice and sharp, with solid subject lock-on via laser autofocus and OIS assistance, and natural bokeh thanks to a wide open f/1.6 aperture.

Night shots can be reasonably crisp, too, when they come out properly. I found that a couple of shots failed to lock on or steady the image sufficiently, producing blurry, unfocused results. When they work, however, they look decent, with less of that over-brightening effect that can lend a somewhat uncanny impression in such lower-tier cameras.

Nubia Z60 Ultra camera samples

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Nubia Z60 Ultra camera sample Flowers-2 — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

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Nubia Z60 Ultra camera sample Night-2 — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

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Nubia Z60 Ultra camera sample Harbour-18mm — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

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Nubia Z60 Ultra camera sample Harbour-35mm — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

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Nubia Z60 Ultra camera sample Harbour-85mm — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

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Nubia Z60 Ultra camera sample Night-1 — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

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Nubia Z60 Ultra camera sample Flowers-1 — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

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Nubia Z60 Ultra camera sample Selfie-1 — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

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Nubia Z60 Ultra camera sample Food-2 — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

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Nubia Z60 Ultra camera sample Shed-18mm — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

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Nubia Z60 Ultra camera sample Shed-35mm — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

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Nubia Z60 Ultra camera sample Shed-85mm — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

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Nubia Z60 Ultra camera sample Selfie-2 — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

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Nubia Z60 Ultra camera sample Food-1 — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

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Nubia Z60 Ultra camera sample Tennis-trees-18mm — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

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Nubia Z60 Ultra camera sample Tennis-trees-35mm — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

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Nubia Z60 Ultra camera sample Tennis-trees-85mm — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

This main sensor provides a competitive shooting experience for the price, which only the Pixel 8 really shows up. Unlike the Pixel 8 – and pretty much any other phone around this price for that matter – the Z60 Ultra also adds a 64MP periscope telephoto into the mix. You’ll want to feed it with plenty of light, but when you do it largely maintains the tone of the main sensor, with a meaningful 3.3x OIS-assisted optical zoom, that works for portrait shots, as well as subject in the distance.

There’s also a 50MP ultra-wide, which marks a more notable divergence in color tone and a spot of overexposure compared to the other two. While it’s not flagship-standard, however, the results are reasonably sharp and certainly usable.

One thing that barely deserves the ‘usable’ tag is the Z60 Ultra’s 12MP selfie camera. As has been the case with every under-display camera to date, the images it produces are awful; with a level of softness and murk that makes every shot look like it's been passed through a third rate Instagram filter.

As you can see from the sample images, you’ll need to contend with an irritating watermark straight out of the box. This can be deactivated in the camera settings menu, but it really shouldn’t even be there.

Camera score: 4 / 5

Nubia Z60 Ultra review: Performance

Nubia Red Magic 9 Pro review Game Space — Game Space is loaded with useful tools for gamers. (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

Top of the line Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset
8GB, 12GB or 16GB of RAM (varies by market)
Strong sustained gaming performance

While some phones pitching for the price point compromise on power, the Nubia Z60 Ultra most certainly hasn’t. It pairs the latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip with (on the UK Nubia store at least) either 12 or 16GB of RAM.

This is a spec fit to compete with the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra – a phone that costs about double the money. The Geekbench 6 benchmark scores are certainly competitive with such a lofty performer.

GPU benchmarks are similarly up there near the top, reflecting the phone’s top-level gaming performance. The likes of Genshin Impact and Wreckfest will run at a super-smooth 60fps, with the graphics cranked up to the max, though that was also largely true of last year’s flagship phones.

Without the Red Magic 9 Pro’s physical fan onboard, the Z60 Ultra ran extremely hot when subjected to the 20-minute Solar Bay Stress Test. But then, that’s a benchmark custom made to make even the most capable of phones puff and pant.

More importantly, the Nubia Z60 Ultra aced said test, which runs 20 minute-long intensive GPU workouts, simulating the effects of sustained high-end gameplay. The way it tends to work is that a smartphone will offer speedy performance for the first few minutes, but will then throttle back when things heat up.

A score of 92.7% suggests a phone that has its cooling game in order, matching the mighty Asus ROG Phone 8 gaming phone for consistency. This means you’ll be able to game and run other intensive tasks for extended periods, without a discernible drop off in performance.

Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Nubia Z60 Ultra review: Software

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Nubia Z60 Ultra review quick settings — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

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Nubia Z60 Ultra review settings menu — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

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Nubia Z60 Ultra review front angled — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

MyOS 14 atop Android 14
Not too much bloatware
Up to three years of software updates

Nubia has packed its latest custom UI – MyOS 14, on top of Android 14. This custom UI is closer to Oppo’s ColorOS or Xiaomi’s HyperOS/MIUI than it is to more stock offerings, from the likes of Motorola, Sony, or OnePlus. It’s all there in the toggle-filled notification pane and in Settings menus that lack a cohesive visual style.

Unsurprisingly, it’s not at all dissimilar to Red Magic OS 9.0 on the Red Magic 9 Pro from the same manufacturer. You have the same basic home screen and menu layout, albeit with round icons and a little less bloatware.

There’s also the same ugly browser-meets-news-feed app that you’ll instantly want to swap with Chrome or your browser of choice, but at least there’s no Booking.com app this time around. As before, Nubia has preinstalled Google Keep, which will always gain props from me.

Despite this not being one of Nubia’s gaming phones, the Game Space UI is here to help you fine-tune your gaming experience. You can even have that physical slider activate it, as is the case with the Red Magic phones.

One other negative is that Nubia is only promising up to three years of software updates, which falls well short of the best.

Software score: 3 / 5

Nubia Z60 Ultra review: Battery

Nubia Z60 Ultra review front angled handheld — (Image credit: Future | Jon Mundy)

Huge 6,000mAh battery
Genuine two-day potential
80W wired charger in the box
No wireless charging

While a notchless display and a periscope camera certainly stand out at this price, there’s one component that really dominates the Nubia Z60 Ultra package: it has an absolutely huge battery.

The phone’s 6,000mAh cell is another holdover from Nubia’s work in the gaming phone space. It’s actually a little smaller than the Red Magic 9 Pro’s 6,500mAh cell, but then that phone has to drive a physical cooling fan.

This is a very big battery any way you cut it, and is likely a leading contributor to the Z60 Ultra’s extreme weight. Thankfully, it partly balances this out with strong stamina.

I found that the phone could get through a full day of moderate usage (four hours of screen on time) with just over 60 percent left to play with. The mathematicians among you will hopefully have figured out that this makes the Z60 Ultra a phone with the scope to go two days in between charges.

For the power users and media-fiends out there, you’ll be able to go through a whole day of intensive usage without sweating over those final few percentage points. Alongside the OnePlus 12R, which manages to wring similarly epic stamina from a slightly smaller battery, this positions the Nubia Z60 Ultra right near the front of the pack.

Elsewhere you can count on rapid 80W wired charging. And yes, said charger is bundled into the box, unlike big-hitting rivals from Samsung, Apple, and Google. It’ll still take around 45 minutes to fill up a complete charge, in my experience, doubtless owing to the sheer size of that cell. But that’s still not bad going.

Sadly, Nubia has opted to omit wireless charging from the Z60 Ultra. This isn’t a totally unusual decision within the ‘almost-flagship’ space, as we saw with the OnePlus 12R, but it’s still a negative point that needs to be acknowledged.

Battery score: 4.5 / 5

Should you buy the Nubia Z60 Ultra?

Buy it if...

You want a complete photographic bundle for less than your average flagship
There aren’t many phones at this price point that give you a solid 3.3x periscope telephoto camera.

You’re after an all-screen phone
The Nubia Z60 Ultra gives you small bezels and an under-display notch, meaning its front is all-screen.

You want two-day battery life
With an unusually large battery, the Z60 Ultra can last two full days of moderate usage.

Don't buy it if...

You like your phones light
This is one of the heaviest non-foldable phones on the market, making it a bit of a bind to carry around.

You prefer your Android stock
Nubia’s custom UI isn’t terrible, but it’s a fair way from Google’s stock ideal.

You take a lot of selfies
The Nubia Z60 Ultra’s 12MP front camera takes some of the worst selfies around.

Nubia Z60 Ultra review: Also consider

Nubia Red Magic 9 Pro
Nubia’s keenly-priced gaming phone is a close cousin of the Z60 Ultra, with a similarly shaped body, an even bigger battery, dedicated gaming controls, and improved performance thanks to a physical cooling fan. However, its camera is inferior, its design is even less appealing, and its software is even busier.

OnePlus 12R
The OnePlus 12R offers a broadly flagship-level experience for a similar price to the Nubia Z60 Ultra. Its design is much more appealing and it packs a superior display, though its performance is inferior and its camera less flexible.

Google Pixel 8
The Pixel 8 is another almost-flagship selling for a similar price. It’s much smaller than the Z60 Ultra, however, and its performance isn’t as good. While it lacks a telephoto camera, its main camera is superior, and the Pixel 8 also gives you wireless charging and a much more refined design.

How I tested the Nubia Z60 Ultra

Review test period = 2 weeks
Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
Tools used = Geekbench 6, GFXBench, 3DMark, native Android stats, bundled Nubia 80W power adapter

I was sent the top 16GB RAM / 512GB storage model of the Nubia Z60 Ultra by a PR representative, at which point I started using the phone on a daily basis over a two-week period.

For at least a week of that time, the Z60 Ultra was my everyday phone. For the rest of the time, I swapped in another active SIM and continued to use the phone for benchmark tests, photos, and general browsing.

I’m a freelance journalist who got his start writing about mobile games in the pre-smartphone era. I was around to cover the arrival of the iPhone and the App Store, as well as Android, and their seismic effect on the games industry. I now write about consumer tech, games, and culture for a number of top websites.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed February 2024

OnePlus 12R review: Long-lasting, eye-popping

5:00 pm | February 5, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets OnePlus Phones Phones | Tags: CPU, ISO, Qualcomm Snapdragon, RAM | Comments: Off

OnePlus 12R: Two-minute review

OnePlus is kicking off 2024 with a pair of new phones, its latest flagship OnePlus 12 and the intriguing OnePlus 12R; which marks the first time an R-series device has launched internationally and not just in India.

While we've seen T-series entries on the global stage before, the R more closely delivers on the promises of the company's full-fat flagship phones and this year's 12R is no exception; running on familiar hardware for those who knew last year's OnePlus 11, while also serving up some company and industry firsts all its own.

OnePlus 12R review back straight perspective — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

At a glance, you'd be forgiven for mistaking the 12R for both the OnePlus 11 and the OnePlus 12, as all three phones sport a familiar aesthetic, with rounded edges and the distinct 'Starlight Dial' circular camera surround that we were first introduced to on 2023's OnePlus flagship.

The iconic physical alert slider may have swapped sides (OnePlus says this improves antenna performance), and the phone may lack wireless charging and full IP68 dust and water resistance, but it's otherwise a beautifully crafted and premium-feeling phone with plenty of power and battery longevity to boot.

If it weren't for the lesser secondary cameras, the 12R amounts to a revamped OnePlus 11, with the same flagship-class Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 found in 2023's finest, up to 16GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and the biggest battery ever seen in a OnePlus phone, which translates to the best longevity we've ever gotten from a OnePlus phone – battery life that matches the likes of the mighty Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

OnePlus has also included its latest OxygenOS 14 user experience out of the box, which comes with a heap of branded technologies; most importantly the 'Trinity Engine': an umbrella term for a number of features that ensure the 12R's performance doesn't degrade over time, focusing on CPU, RAM, and ROM management.

A killer 1.5K LTPO 4.0 AMOLED display fronts the phone, with a more advanced adaptive refresh rate, touch response rate and peak brightness (4,500nits) than even the OnePlus 11.

OnePlus 12R review front angled — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

If there's one area where the 12R does fall short of its otherwise flagship standing, it's with camera versatility. The main 50MP Sony sensor delivers a similar experience to that of last year's flagship – running on the same sensor and with a fast shutter not to mention a year's worth of refinement from OnePlus. However the 8MP ultra-wide and 2MP macro cameras don't keep step with regards to quality and consistency.

For the price, there's little that matches the 12R directly, however, alternatives like the OnePlus 11, Samsung Galaxy S23 FE and iPhone 14 come close; provided you're willing to trade away the phone's excellent display tech and battery prowess. One of the best OnePlus phones yet? Quite possibly, even without being a fully-fledged flagship in its own right.

OnePlus 12R review: Price and availability

Priced from $499.99 / £649
Announced January 23, on sale February 13
$300 / £200 lower starting price than equivalent storage OnePlus 12

The OnePlus 12R serves as the global variant of the OnePlus Ace 3, which launched in China at the very start of 2024. The 12R made its debut as part of the OnePlus 12's global launch event in India on January 23, with a staggered on-sale date that sees the phone released first in India (on February 6), before arriving in markets including the US, UK and Europe on February 13.

US customers get the choice of two storage configurations, starting at $499.99 with 128GB of space, while UK and European customers only have access to the single higher-capacity 256GB model, which sells for $599.99 in the US and £649 / €699 in those two other markets, respectively.

Pricing means it undercuts other newcomers, like the Samsung Galaxy S24, Google Pixel 8 and baseline iPhone 15 by quite a margin, and in truth, there's little worth considering around the 12R's launch price, save for more expensive but older phones that have had time to drop in price, including the company's own OnePlus 11.

The company's 2024 flagship – the OnePlus 12 – comfortably sits around $300 / £200 more expensive for the same amount of storage, but for the extra cash you're getting a sharper screen, better cameras, longer-term software support, and Qualcomm's latest and greatest flagship silicon in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

Note though that there's no current Australian availability for the OnePlus 12R or the standard OnePlus 12.

Value score: 4 / 5

OnePlus 12R review: Specs

OnePlus 12R review: Design

OnePlus 12R review back angled floating — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Elegant, premium curved glass and metal aesthetics
Physical alert slider on left side
IP64-certified against dust and water

The OnePlus 12R presents itself as a premium handset, with a level of fit and finish on par with any of the latest top-tier phones out there, not least because it shares in the 'Starlight Dial' design language of this year's and last year's OnePlus flagships.

The Iron Gray model (pictured) has a matte glass back that's superb at repelling fingerprints (and other marks) but has an almost Teflon-like low friction coefficient, meaning it's a little slippery in the hand. The Cool Blue alternative, meanwhile, is the more head-turning option, that's better at catching the light (and fingerprints), if you're in the market for a little more flare. It's worth noting that colorway availability varies by region and storage variant too.

If you're not a fan of the straight-sided iPhones or Galaxy phones (or the rumored design of the forthcoming Pixel 9 series) leading the market, the 12R is the perfect remedy. The front and back glass curve elegantly into the thin metal frame, which makes it a touch trickier to hold by comparison but nicer in the hand and on the eye.

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OnePlus 12R review alert slider — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

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OnePlus 12R review alert slider UI — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

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OnePlus 12R review top — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

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OnePlus 12R review handheld front — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

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OnePlus 12R review back straight — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

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OnePlus 12R review camera — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

A trait that's slipped in since OnePlus more closely buddied up to sister company Oppo is the adoption of a flat top and bottom to some of its phones' frames, and that's the case with the 12R. A USB-C port, SIM tray and speaker grille reside along the bottom, while microphones and – perhaps most intriguingly of all – an IR blaster can be found on the phone's top edge. This is a novel addition that's seldom seen on phones nowadays, but gives the 12R universal remote functionality which you won't readily find on the competition; great for controlling your TV, aircon, projector, and even some smart lights, all from the one device.

OnePlus' iconic alert slider (oddly absent from previous performance flagships like the OnePlus 10T) is reassuringly present on the 12R, although perhaps not as 'correct' as long-time OnePlus users might expect, as across both entries in the series, this knurled three-stage switch is now found on the opposing side to where it usually sits (the right side). OnePlus claims this helps with antenna performance – especially when gaming in landscape – and in practice, the learning curve of adjusting to a swapped alert slider and volume rocker is negligible.

While the 12R is notably thinner (and a touch lighter) than the standard OnePlus 12, that's partly down to the lack of wireless charging, while that finely-crafted bodywork also falls short of the industry-standard dust and water resistance, with only IP64 certification (most flagships boast IP68 protection against water ingress).

Design score: 3.5 / 5

OnePlus 12R review: Display

OnePlus 12R review front angled straight on — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

6.78-inch 1.5K 19.8:9 120Hz LTPO 4.0 ProXDR AMOLED display
Outstanding peak brightness up to 4,500nits
Aqua Touch for accurate use in the wet

Look past the marketing spiel (which there's a lot of) and the 12R's display is spec'd as one of the market's best right now. Beyond the fundamentals as a 6.78-inch 1.5K AMOLED panel protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2, the ProXDR screen on the 12R boasts the same peak brightness as the OnePlus 12, at a whopping 4,500nits (with an HBM or high brightness mode peak of 1,600nits).

For comparison, the iPhone 15 series tops out at 2,000nits, while the S24 series reaches 2,600nits. Although that peak isn't an increment you'll likely hit in day to day use, the additional headroom over screens of the most prominent players in the industry means everything from outdoor legibility to HDR content consumption (it's also Dolby Vision, HDR Vivid and HDR10+ compliant for good measure) is comparatively better. Speaking of HDR content, being able to view HDR imagery shot on device, natively in both the OnePlus Photos app and the Google Photos app – similarly to the likes of the latest Pixel 8 Pro – is a nice flex.

The LTPO 4.0 tech at work also means improved power efficiency (relative to LTPO 3.0, as on the OnePlus 11), as this new panel is able to switch between more frequency increments through its 1Hz to 120Hz range, depending on the situation (lower frequencies equal less power drain, higher frequencies offer more fluid visuals).

As for gamers, an impressive 1,000Hz touch response rate (branded 'HyperTouch') is on-hand to ensure accurate touch input at any pace (that's faster than any of the best gaming phones currently out there), while 'HyperRender' is responsible for backlight calibration when gaming; accounting for the environment you're playing in and optimizing contrast and brightness dynamically.

There's also the presence of Aqua Touch: an algorithm that helps the 12R discern between water droplets and true touch inputs on a wet display; making use in rain or similarly wet conditions far more reliable than you'd experience with a conventional touchscreen and in practice, it's a huge win for convenience, especially if, like me, you're a Londoner all too familiar with the Great British weather's habits.

Throw in 2160Hz PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) dimming for reduced eye strain in low light (backed by independent certification from TÜV Rheinland), and an overall A+ rating from DisplayMate, and OnePlus has receipts to back up its claims surrounding the 12R's screen tech.

Sure, these aren't all headline features worth buying the phone for explicitly but they're 'nice to haves' that elevate the 12R's viewing experience beyond both expectation and more prominent competitors.

Display score: 5 / 5

OnePlus 12R review: Software

OnePlus 12R review apps drawer — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

OxygenOS 14 atop Android 14 out of the box
Customizable user experience without feeling overwhelming
3 years of OS + 4 years of security updates

If you're a long-time OnePlus user, you'll know OxygenOS has lost a little of its individuality since OnePlus and Oppo more closely collaborated on their respective mobile user experiences (we lost the 1+ calculator easter egg with OxygenOS 13), however, OxygenOS 14 (running atop the latest Android 14) still delivers on the core values of OnePlus' software from previous generations; packed with sparks of software design so good that you'd wish other brands would crib from it.

While delivering a relatively clean aesthetic and user experience, OxygenOS has supported user generated wallpapers long before Samsung and Asus called upon AI smarts to offer similar results with their latest-generation phones, Zen Space is a one-stop destination for mindfulness that supports Android's native Digital Wellbeing toolset, gestures and floating windows add a heap of flexibility to the base OS's multitasking experience, and being able to quick-launch apps from the fingerprint sensor is a nice trick too.

OnePlus 12R review The Shelf — The Shelf on OxygenOS 14 (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

The Shelf is an interesting inclusion that OnePlus has struggled to find a consistent home for within OxygenOS and I'm not convinced its current location – accessed by swiping down on the home screen, replacing quick access to notifications and quick settings – should be its final destination. Nevertheless, as a dedicated home for widgets – akin to Today View on iPadOS – it's a nice way to keep glanceable information all in one place.

OxygenOS manages to walk the line between simplicity and functionality where other brands' user experiences tend to err on the side of 'more features equals better', even if that's at the expense of intuitive navigation and interaction.

The 12R's standing below that of the company's true current flagship does mean that its software support isn't quite as extensive – at three years of OS upgrades and four years of security updates – but that does at least keep it in step with the similarly-spec'd OnePlus 11, meaning both phones won't fall out of favor until Android 18 (and presumably OxygenOS 18).

Software score: 4 / 5

OnePlus 12R review: Cameras

OnePlus 12R review camera closeup — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Robust 50MP Sony IMX890 lead sensor, as on OnePlus 11
Same RAW HDR algorithm, as on the OnePlus 12
Ineffectual macro camera

While at a glance the OnePlus 12R's rear camera setup may resemble the OnePlus 11's and 12's, it's likely the biggest departure from both phones and one of the biggest cost-saving aspects of the 12R's spec sheet. You still get the same 1/1.56-inch Sony IMX890 sensor that leads the OnePlus 11's camera setup, complete with a year's worth of software refinement, plus improved speed from mode switching to shutter lag, but beyond its main snapper, the 12R's photographic capabilities are more pedestrian.

The 8MP Sony IMX355 ultra-wide serves up consistent colors with the main camera in good lighting, but detail is noticeably lacking when comparing similar shots taken between the two, while the 2MP macro camera lacks the pixels, dynamic range and color depth to be anything other than novel.

OnePlus 12R camera samples

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OnePlus 12R camera sample main Citroen — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

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Portrait mode

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OnePlus 12R camera sample ultra wide high street — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Ultra wide camera

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OnePlus 12R camera sample main high street — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

1x zoom

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2x zoom

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5x zoom

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20x zoom

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OnePlus 12R camera sample main jumper sleeve — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Main camera

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OnePlus 12R camera sample macro jumper sleeve — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Macro camera

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OnePlus 12R camera sample main glass — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Main camera

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OnePlus 12R camera sample macro glass — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Macro camera

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OnePlus 12R camera sample main garden — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Ultra wide camera

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OnePlus 12R camera sample ultra wide garden — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Macro camera

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Low light

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Night mode

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OnePlus 12R camera sample main manual max ISO and shutter garden — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Low light w/ maximum ISO and shutter speed

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OnePlus 12R camera sample selfie — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Front

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OnePlus 12R camera sample selfie Portrait mode — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Front camera w/ Portrait mode

If you're serious about shooting on the 12R, all your photos should really come from the OIS-supported (optical image stabilization) main 50MP sensor. It offers enough versatility in its own right to satiate the average mobile photographer, and while there's no Hasselblad tuning to speak of – as on the brand's other premium phones – image quality is generally great; with a particular talent for HDR shooting, exemplified by the 'ProXDR' toggle in the phone's native gallery app that shows this trait off most clearly.

Along with excellent colors, detail, and dynamic range when snapping standard 12.6MP jpeg stills, you have the choice of capturing full-sensor 50MP images, as well as HDR shots in RAW, with the 12R benefitting from the same RAW HDR algorithm as found on the OnePlus 12.

One growing trend from the current era of smartphone photography that isn't as prevalent on the OnePlus 12R is AI-supported shooting, especially when it comes to editing tools. Features like generative fill are being popularized by the likes of the latest Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy smartphones, and is one such AI feature you won't find here.

Camera score: 3.5 / 5

OnePlus 12R review: Performance

OnePlus 12R review gaming — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC
Trinity Engine for CPU, RAM and ROM optimization
Dual vapor chamber cooling design

If you thought the branding for the various technologies in the display section of this review was a bit much, OnePlus kicks things into overdrive when it comes to talking about the phone's performance. Practically every performance-centric hardware and software optimization comes with a catchy name attached, with the 'Trinity Engine' being the umbrella brand under which they all sit.

Building on memory optimization features the company first introduced with the OnePlus 11, the Trinity Engine consists of three key parts: CPU-Vita, RAM-Vita and ROM-Vita, which collectively work to keep the 12R feeling fast and fluid long into your time with it. This is primarily achieved by throttling for heat management and battery longevity, prioritizing memory allocation for more frequently used apps, and on-the-fly defragmentation of storage to keep files accessible; all in the pursuit of peace of mind for users looking for a worthwhile long-term smartphone purchase.

Running on the same chipset as the OnePlus 11 – paired with the latest UFS 4.0 storage (on the 256GB model, at least) and LPDDR5X RAM for greater speed and power efficiency – you'd expect comparable flagship performance, and in artificial benchmarking tests, you'd be right. In fact, the OnePlus 12R feels as fast and as fluid to use as any current flagship, including more cutting-edge Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered phones. The performance shortfall likely won't be felt for at least a year or two, which is to say this phone is comfortable with whatever you throw at it, right now.

Gaming on Genshin Impact with default (medium) graphical settings and a bump up to a 60fps frame rate cap proved zero issue for the 12R for extended periods and seldom were frames dropped. The caveat to that is that despite a new 'Cryo-Velocity' dual vapor chamber cooling system – offering a reported three-times-larger vapor chamber area compared to the OnePlus 11 – heat build-up was more noticeable during intensive tasks than expected; never to a concerning degree, but still.

There are some great user-accessible performance tools worth digging into too. Live Lock is perfect for pinning apps that you want the system to leave resources available for – ideal for downloading system updates for Genshin while doing other things. Gaming Tools let you customize graphical settings, manage notifications and performance allowances, and even toggle improved HDR visuals.

There's also the fact that OnePlus (and Oppo and Realme) phones don't run in a high performance state out of the box. While the 12R feels perfectly tightly wound for responsive everyday use, dive into the phone's power menu and you'll find a toggle for 'high performance mode.' It's a little bonus that you'll likely never need, but additional grunt on tap is never to be sniffed at.

Performance score: 4 / 5

OnePlus 12R review: Battery

OnePlus 12R review USB — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Largest capacity battery in a OnePlus phone ever
Up to 100W SuperVOOC wired charging
Rated for only 20% capacity degradation after 1,600 cycles

Along with the screen, the battery is arguably one of the OnePlus 12R's greatest strengths. Around the same physical size as the OnePlus 11's battery, the company has managed to up the capacity to a whopping 5,500mAh – making this the largest power cell in a OnePlus phone ever.

Even without the latest-generation Qualcomm chipset, that larger capacity helps deliver the best battery life we've tested in a OnePlus phone, clocking in at around eight hours of screen-on time per charge, equivalent to two days of light to average use on a single charge. It's not quite iPhone 15 series longevity, but matches some of the best Android phones on the market, beating out mainstream rivals like the Pixel 8 series, handily.

Not only that, in most markets save for the US (where it peaks at 80W), the OnePlus 12R comes with rapid 100W fast charging, which OnePlus claims means you can hit 100% charge after only 26 minutes, In testing, the review sample used here reached 92% in the same time, fully charging at the 30-minute mark exactly; making this one of the faster-charging phones out there right now.

Being built for long-term use seems to be a key theme of the OnePlus 12R, with the company promising a four-year or 1,600-cycle on the battery, after which they claim longevity will equate to around 80% of the out-of-box performance. For comparison, Apple officially states that its iPhones reach this same 80% capacity threshold after just 500 cycles.

The only real fly in the ointment here is the reduced peak 80W charging speed in the US (a trait found on other OnePlus phones too) and the absence of any form of wireless charging.

Battery score: 4.5 / 5

Should you buy the OnePlus 12R?

Buy it if...

You like media and gaming
The combination of display, performance, and battery life make this a superb phone for high-fidelity gaming or enjoying HDR content for hours on end.

You like curved-edge smartphones
The latest iPhones, Samsung Galaxy phones and, as it currently looks like, the next batch of Pixels have all adopted straight sided designs with flat screens. The OnePlus 12R shirks this design trend and places elegant curves first.

You want an Android phone with great battery performance
One of the longest-lasting Android phones on the market also packs in a battery that's built to charge quickly and last years upon years of recharge cycles with minimal degradation. Great for travelers, gamers, and power users.

Don't buy it if...

You want a killer camera
That main 50MP Sony IMX890 sensor is a real joy to use and highlights the strides OnePlus has made in its camera tuning over the years, but as the 12R packs three cameras on the back, you have to consider the whole packages and those other sensors don't pull their weight.

You need the best water resistance or wireless charging
Most flagships come packing IP68-certified dust and water ingress protection, the 12R falls short of the mark when it comes to withstanding the wet stuff by comparison, and that slim body may look good but leaves no room for wireless charging.

OnePlus 12R review: Also consider

Even though it's a great device, there are issues with the OnePlus 12R, so you might want to consider one of the following alternatives.

OnePlus 11
Similar specs and the same software update expiration date, but the previous year's OnePlus 11 boasts a superior camera with Hasselblad tuning to boot.

Samsung Galaxy S23 FE
The last of Samsung's Galaxy S23 series is smaller than the 12R and doesn't pack the same degree of grunt, but it offers affordable access to a premium Samsung experience and is one of the few phones that comes to market around the same asking price as the 12R.

How I tested the OnePlus 12R

OnePlus 12R review camera closeup alt — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Review test period: three weeks
Testing included: everyday use including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
Tools used: Geekbench 6, Geekbench ML, GFXBench, native Android stats, OnePlus 100W SuperVOOC charger

Having received both the OnePlus 12 and 12R a week ahead of the OnePlus 12 series' launch, I got straight to using the 12R (check out our OnePlus 12 review if you're curious about the company's new flagship), adding my own Google account and OnePlus account before using the device as my main phone for the duration of the review period.

Usage included streaming video, snapping stills and video with the phone's various cameras, and toying with the ProXDR display's abilities with both compatible content and gaming.

Publicly available, industry standard benchmarking apps were used to meter the CPU, GPU, and AI performance of the OnePlus 12R, and while we don't always publish the results, we keep them on file for comment and comparison with other devices we've tested. Battery life was tested by recording screen-on time each day across a single charge from 100% to 0%, based on normal everyday use, while the in-box charger was used to recharge the phone, with the charge checked at intervals to assess the rate of replenishment.

The cameras were used in a myriad of conditions to test their versatility, with comparisons between sensors and the cameras of other phones as part of the testing process.

Having extensively reviewed numerous smartphones, including a myriad of OnePlus phones during my 12 years of journalistic experience, I felt confident in putting the OnePlus 12R through its paces and evaluating its abilities in a fair and informed manner, based on the market, its target audience, pricing, and the competition.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed February 2024

OnePlus 12 review: the coolest phone you can buy, if you dare

8:00 am | February 2, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Android Computers Gadgets Phones | Tags: AI | Comments: Off

OnePlus 12: Two-minute review

The OnePlus 12 is cool, there is no doubt about it. It looks gorgeous, and OnePlus has somehow managed to set itself apart from the slew of slabs that clutter store shelves with one of the sweetest color options I’ve ever seen on a phone, along with a design that is uncompromising and polished.

Just like the coolest people, the OnePlus 12 is fun and flashy and hides its weaknesses where you can’t see them. It’s the best player in a scoring position, but it can’t play every role on the field.

The OnePlus 12 tries to play the smartphone game as the so-called ‘flagship killer,’ which is a phone that costs much less than the best Samsung Galaxy or best Apple iPhone, but still gives you the best features of those more popular handsets.

In many respects, it’s victorious, especially when you compare the OnePlus 12 to competitor phones that actually cost the same. If the OnePlus 12 is almost good enough to take on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, it’s more than enough to challenge the Galaxy S24, which is a bit more expensive. If the Pixel 8 Pro has a tough new competitor, the Pixel 8, at the same price, is no competition at all for the OnePlus 12.

OnePlus 12 showing TechRadar.com on web browser — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The OnePlus 12 has amazing performance, good enough to go toe-to-toe with the latest iPhone 15 Pro in games and some productivity tasks. It has cameras that produce excellent images; in some cases these photos are more compelling than the Galaxy S24 Ultra and our other best camera phones.

In other words, if you go for the OnePlus 12 instead of that other phone you were considering, you won’t feel like you’re missing out. You get top-level performance, amazing photography, and battery life that lasts for days. You also get some cool features you can’t find elsewhere, like super-fast charging, and even an IR blaster that can change the channel on your TV.

For the price, the OnePlus 12 is a stellar phone that exceeds expectations. If that makes you a little suspicious, you’re right to raise an eyebrow. What’s missing are some of the same aspects OnePlus has omitted before, but now these features may be more important than ever.

For one thing, the OnePlus 12 isn’t as durable as the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra or the iPhone 15 Pro, not even close. Between the iPhone 15 Pro’s titanium frame and the new Gorilla Armor glass on the Galaxy Ultra, OnePlus won’t stand up to abuse like its rivals.

OnePlus 12 up close showing camera lenses and color — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

What’s worse, OnePlus has once again skipped IP68 certification, which would ensure its phones could be submerged underwater. OnePlus says you can use the phone in the rain, and it even built the screen to account for water droplets. It just didn’t go as far as making the phone truly water resistant, which is a shame considering every iPhone, Pixel, and Galaxy S phone can take a dip. It’s hard to recommend any smartphone that doesn’t have this bare minimum level of durability.

The biggest OnePlus omission compared to its rivals won’t be felt for years, but it may be the most important in the long run. Samsung and Google have promised to support the latest Galaxy S24 and Pixel 8 families, respectively, for seven years of Android OS and security updates. OnePlus has no advertised promise, and in the past, it has delivered three years or less, which is now far behind the best Android phones.

Then there are more esoteric questions about OnePlus ownership. How will you afford this phone if you can’t pay for it monthly with your carrier contract? OnePlus has great deals and financing, but that may not be enough for some buyers.

Where will you get it fixed when it breaks? You can call OnePlus, but with an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy phone, you can just walk into a store and get your phone fixed on the same day. Hopefully, that never matters, but when it happens to you, you’re going to be unhappy.

I’m happy to root for an underdog, and there’s a lot to love in the new OnePlus 12. If you like these OnePlus priorities, I have no problem recommending this phone to you, but I can’t recommend it to everybody. For that, I’d trade performance for more durability, and maybe get the phone through testing at one US carrier, at least. But OnePlus isn’t trying to go mainstream, and that’s another thing that makes it the coolest smartphone you can buy.

OnePlus 12 review: Price and availability

Costs $799.99 / £849 (around AU$1,215) but nobody will pay that much
OnePlus will offer $100 minimum for any trade for the life of the phone
Not available with any major carrier for a contract deal

The OnePlus 12 will list for $799.99 / £849 (around AU$1,215), but just like it does for the OnePlus Open (my favorite foldable tablet phone), OnePlus will offer a deal for the life of the OnePlus 12 promising at least $100 for any trade-in of any phone. You can trade a broken rotary phone, they don’t care, they just want to knock $100 or more off the price without advertising it that low. It’s weird but take the discount.

In other words, the OnePlus 12 is effectively a $699 phone in the US, which puts it in the same price range as the Pixel 8, the Galaxy S24 (with a similar trade-in offer), and $100 less than the base model iPhone 15.

Comparing the OnePlus 12 to those phones is almost laughable. The OnePlus 12 has a display that is as large as the Galaxy S24 Ultra, except the OnePlus is more sharp and can reach a brighter peak in outdoor light. It has a larger battery than the expensive iPhone 15 Pro Max, a full 35% larger than the Galaxy S24.

OnePlus 12 from the side — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Of course, even those cheaper phones all have IP68 water resistance certification, as well as five years (iPhone 15) or seven years (Pixel 8 and Galaxy S24) of software updates, which could make those devices more valuable in two years when you want to sell them and upgrade.

Compared to the big, mighty flagship phones, here in the US, the OnePlus 12 is $600 less than the Galaxy S24 Ultra and $500 less than the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Even compared to the top-of-the-line, you still get a bigger, sharper, and brighter display on the OnePlus 12, as well as a larger battery than any competitor. That battery charges much faster, too.

Is it worth saving money and buying a OnePlus 12 instead? Absolutely, if you promise to be very, very careful with your new phone. There won’t be as many cases available as there are for Galaxy and iPhone, but you might want a case anyway, so you don’t crack that silky, smooth finish.

Value score: 5 / 5

OnePlus 12 review: Specs

OnePlus 12 from bottom showing curves and USB C port — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The OnePlus 12 uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, just like the Samsung Galaxy S24, but it isn’t overclocked like the Samsung “for Galaxy” option. In testing, including benchmark apps, the OnePlus 12 performed very well against the Galaxy phones and the latest iPhone 15 Pro models, even beating the iPhone on some tests. The results were always very close, which means the OnePlus may not be the top-performing phone you can buy, but the differences are more slight than ever before.

Where the OnePlus wins in specs is in charging and battery size. It packs a 5,400 mAh cell, which is actually two 2,700 mAh cells, thanks to OnePlus / Oppo SuperVOOC charging. That means you can charge at an effective 80W (max in the US), or up to 50W wireless with a AirVOOC charger.

OnePlus 12 review: Design

OnePlus 12 from 3/4 angle in green — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Unique green color with cool stripes and satin finish
Even the black has a unique, sparkly look
Seriously, maybe the coolest smartphone design ever

At a time when Apple and Samsung seem to be trying to undo smartphone design, OnePlus boldly embraces curves, swoops, and outstanding color options with the OnePlus 12. My review unit is thankfully the Flowy Emerald color I adored at the preview I saw last year, but even the Silky Black has a unique, glittery finish that makes it sparkle unlike any other staid black option I’ve seen on the market.

The Galaxy S24 is a slab of a phone, no matter which you choose. The Samsung Galaxy has lost all of its curves and lines. The OnePlus 12, on the other hand, is gently curved on every edge. The lines are inviting, not just unobtrusive. The camera hump flows gracefully into the edge of the phone, and the touches of color and polished glass are playful and clever.

The OnePlus 12 retains the mute switch, and OnePlus fans would revolt if they lost it. I still find the switch more useful than I find the Action Button on my iPhone 15 Pro Max, but what I really want is a camera shutter button. Especially on a phone with true Hasselblad branding, how about it, OnePlus? Maybe for the lucky number OnePlus 13?

OnePlus 12 logo up close macro shot

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The OnePlus 12 is a chonky beast and I’m not gonna complain about it. It’s thicker than any current iPhone 15 or Galaxy S24 phone, even the big ones, but it packs a much larger battery inside, and that pays off with longer battery life. I’ve been begging for years for phone makers to just add some thickness so the phone can last longer. OnePlus listened. Thank you! It turns out we were both right, and it’s worth the trade.

With its larger display, the OnePlus 12 is actually less dense than the competition, so it’s lighter than the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which is close in size. It still feels substantial and thick, though the curved edges make it comfortable to hold.

I still can’t forgive the lack of IP68 support, and to put this into proper context, Samsung has made water resistance a standard feature on every Galaxy S phone (but one) since the Galaxy S5, and we’re up to the Galaxy S24 this year. Shipping a phone without IP68 certification is like selling a car without a backup camera. Maybe you can drive safely without that feature but would you want to? Similarly, most people prefer the peace of mind of knowing that if you drop your phone in the toilet, you haven’t ruined your baby.

Design score: 4.5 / 5

OnePlus 12 review: Display

OnePlus 12 home screen in emerald green — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Incredibly bright display can reach dangerous levels
More sharp than the iPhone 15 Pro Max
Bigger than the Galaxy S24 Ultra, but curved so it looks smaller

I’m not sure what OnePlus did to reach peak brightness levels up to 4,500 nits on the OnePlus 12, but maybe it should stop? OnePlus reps told us that levels over 3,000 nits can be harmful to your eyes over a long period, and the OnePlus 12 can’t actually blast you with that much light all at once for a long period. It’s more likely to simply light up small portions of the screen that need the boost. Still, when we cross the threshold for potential eye damage, maybe we’ve gone too far.

In practice, I couldn’t actually hurt myself with the OnePlus 12, and not for lack of trying. It’s simply been cold and cloudy since I picked up my review unit almost a month ago. Blame Connecticut’s terrible winter weather. In any case, I’ve been very impressed with the speed and responsiveness of the display, especially playing games. This screen is totally lag-free in every way.

The OnePlus 12 display is apparently fractionally larger than the Galaxy S24 Ultra, and it is technically sharper, but the curve at the edges makes it seem a bit smaller. I prefer the look of the OnePlus 12 curves, but I can’t argue that the amazing new Gorilla Armor glass on the Ultra makes it much better at reflecting glare from my studio lights or bright sun. The OnePlus can push more brightness, but the Ultra doesn’t need to get so bright. It’s a fair trade.

Display score: 5 / 5

OnePlus 12 review: Software

OnePlus 12 showing multi window with maps and TechRadar.com on the browser — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

A light hand with Android, and good organization tools
No junky AI features that nobody asked for
Oxygen OS is still Android, but not as complex as Samsung’s woeful One UI

OnePlus uses Oxygen OS from parent Oppo with Android 14, and it keeps a light touch with Android, as opposed to Samsung’s Galaxy S24, which is loaded with extra features and apps. The OnePlus 12 is still an Android phone, but it keeps some of the great home screen organization tools that Google abandoned a few years back, so it’s a bit easier to use and organize than even a so-called ‘vanilla’ Android Pixel 8.

That doesn’t mean the OnePlus 12 doesn’t fall victim to familiar Android traps. There are multiple “Photo” apps on this phone, including the OnePlus photo gallery and Google Photos. It’s confusing, but you don’t get two web browsers or two App Stores. OnePlus has a OnePlus Store, but it only tried to sell me some new earbuds, not the phone I was already holding in my hand (hi, Samsung).

The big problem with Oxygen OS and OnePlus developing its own system comes down the road when it’s time for an Android update. OnePlus has delivered three years of updates for its best phones, but Samsung and Google are now promising seven years of updates, while Apple has always given its iPhone models five years of new software.

OnePlus 12 settings quick panel — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

I don’t see a specific software promise on the OnePlus online store, but even three years won’t be enough anymore. I doubt OnePlus can sustain its own OS development on older models. That takes serious developer commitment that only the biggest companies like Google, Samsung, and Apple can offer. This will remain an ongoing problem for OnePlus, I believe.

The OnePlus 12 conspicuously skips new AI features that are plaguing other Android phones. The Galaxy S24 launched with a mixed bag of AI on board, including very useful translation tools and somewhat useless writing style adaptation tools. New AI features for editing images fall in between. On the OnePlus 12, you’ll find none of these, for better and for worse.

I suspect that Google will bring more AI to Android in general, which will include OnePlus, but it won’t port everything. Samsung got some features that were previously Pixel-exclusive, like Magic Editor in the Samsung Gallery app. The OnePlus 12 did not benefit from Google’s largesse.

For now, it’s almost a relief that the OnePlus 12 is unburdened with AI features that nobody requested. Apple isn’t stuffing AI into the iPhone 15 yet, so it doesn’t feel like OnePlus is behind. That could change quickly, especially if Samsung makes some quick advances with AI and Bixby and gives its phones an entirely AI interface.

Software score: 3 / 5

Google Pixel 8 Pro review: Cameras

OnePlus 12 cameras — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Quirky camera system takes some practice but delivers results
Excellent selfies and solid portraits
Unique color tuning works when it works

If you want a camera that creates really cool-looking photos, especially photos of people, the OnePlus 12 was made for you. If you’re looking for extreme accuracy in color and detail, look elsewhere. The partnership between OnePlus and Hasselblad continues into its fourth generation, and once again the cameras produce images that are certainly unique, though perhaps not what most people expect or desire from a smartphone camera.

OnePlus says that Hasselblad has tuned its camera processing (ie. it hasn’t helped create the lenses) to imitate classic Hasselblad portrait lenses. I’ve never shot with a Hasselblad camera, but in my shootout against the best camera phones you can buy, including the latest Galaxy S24 Ultra and the iPhone 15 Pro Max, the OnePlus held its own, and in selfie photos and portraits, the results were often better from OnePlus.

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Macro shot of the camera lenses on the OnePlus 12 — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

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This is not a versatile camera setup. The zoom lens works great to add bokeh and dramatic blur to portraits, but this phone cannot shoot long distance like the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It also had more trouble focusing close up, which made for macros that looked blurry and some food shots that needed to be retaken.

If you love street photography or candid snapshots, the OnePlus 12 will be totally satisfying, and it has plenty of shooting modes, Pro settings, and filter options to create great images. This isn’t the top camera on our list, but it deserves respect for a unique look that is often cooler than the laboratory-accurate photos you’ll get from the iPhone and Galaxy.

OnePlus 12 camera app — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

OnePlus 12 camera samples

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OnePlus 12 camera image samples — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

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Camera score: 3 / 5

OnePlus 12 review: Performance

OnePlus 12 showing Alito's Odyssey and gaming controls panel — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Excellent performance in gaming and productivity
No AI features to bog down the latest Snapdragon

The OnePlus 12 offered superb performance for every task I threw its way. With a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset on board, it almost matches the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which itself beat Apple’s latest iPhone 15 Pro in performance tests. The Galaxy is overclocked slightly, so the OnePlus 12 is technically a bit slower, but you won’t notice the difference unless you only care about benchmark scores. In real-world gaming, photo editing, and navigating the interface, the OnePlus 12 moves as swiftly as I could hope.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra squanders its performance on AI features that lag, because they require more processing or need to talk to a cloud server. Using an S24 Ultra actually feels a bit slower because you’re constantly waiting for the phone to do its new thing. The OnePlus 12 skips those new things. There’s no Circle to Search, or Magic Editor in the Photos app. I don’t miss those features, not yet, so I appreciate the performance benefit.

OnePlus brags a lot about its cooling prowess and its Oxygen OS ability to keep your CPU, your RAM, and your storage running smoothly over a longer period. Frankly, I’m skeptical of any claims from a company that doesn’t know the difference between ROM and storage, as indicated on the OnePlus 12 website. I had no performance issue, but I’m taking OnePlus claims with a hefty grain of salt.

Performance score: 4 / 5

OnePlus 12 review: Battery life

OnePlus 12 USB C port — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

A larger battery means longer battery life, who knew?
Better battery than the Galaxy S24 Ultra, even
Super fast charging, wired or wireless

The OnePlus 12 has more battery inside than the Galaxy S24 Ultra or the iPhone 15 Pro Max, so it’s no surprise that it also offers more battery life. I had no trouble using the OnePlus 12 for two days of normal usage, without too much camera time. Even with intense use, playing games, and shooting tons of photos, the OnePlus lasted all day and into the night.

There’s technically 5,400 mAh of battery in the OnePlus 12, but that’s divided into two battery cells. This technology lets OnePlus charge both batteries simultaneously, which doubles the charging speed. With the included 80W charger, you can easily charge the OnePlus to 100% full in just under 30 minutes. A Galaxy S24 Ultra can only charge to 70% in that time, and an iPhone 15 Pro Max will top 40% in half an hour of charging.

OnePlus sent me a special 50W wireless charger that works with the OnePlus 12. In only 15 minutes my phone was 27% charged, which is more juice than the iPhone 15 Pro Max can sip on a wired charger in the same time. Wireless charging for the OnePlus 12 is faster than most other wired competitors.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra charges at 45W on a wired charger, but wired charging is more efficient than wireless charging, so it still charges faster when plugged in than the OnePlus 12 charges wirelessly.

Battery score: 5 / 5

Should you buy the OnePlus 12

OnePlus 12 from angle showing glittery finish — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Buy it if...

You want the coolest phone around
The OnePlus 12 has what no other flagship smartphone has – coolness. It looks cool, it runs cool, and it isn’t bogged down with uncool software and AI features.

Battery life and fast charging are important
The OnePlus 12 charges faster than any iPhone or Galaxy, whether you use the included (yay!) charger or OnePlus’s fast wireless option. The battery life also beats all competition.

You’ve only got a few bucks and want the most bang
The OnePlus 12 competes with the most expensive phones, so compared to any phone in its price range, it's easily the best phone you can buy.

Don't buy it if...

You want a phone that does everything
The OnePlus 12 does a lot of things right, but it skips a lot of features, like new AI tools from Google and the desktop environment, DeX, that Samsung gives you on most Galaxy S phones.

You want a phone that will last a long time
The OnePlus 12 isn’t as durable as the competition, and it isn’t IP68 water resistant. Even worse, OnePlus doesn’t offer as many years of Android updates and security patches.

You need versatile cameras for every situation
The OnePlus 12 takes great portrait shots, but if you need a zoom lens to catch your kid on the field or the stage, or you want to take macro close-ups, this camera doesn’t do everything right.

OnePlus 12 review: Also consider

The OnePlus 12 is an amazing phone for the price, but other phones in the same price range might be a better option, depending on what you do with your phone.

Samsung Galaxy S24
The Samsung Galaxy S24 is smaller than the OnePlus 12, with a smaller battery, but it’s even more powerful, with tons more features thanks to Samsung’s One UI and Google AI.

Apple iPhone 15
The iPhone 15 doesn’t have the most powerful iPhone cameras or performance, but it offers Apple’s elegant and fun iOS 17 in a sleek device that will stay up to date for five years to come.

How I tested the OnePlus 12

I tested the OnePlus 12 as my primary device for work and personal use, loading numerous apps and services including my email accounts, Slack and Google Meet accounts, and more. I took photos, played games, and used the OnePlus 12 for navigation and music playback in the car.

I used the OnePlus 12 with a variety of accessories, including Bluetooth earbuds like the Google Pixel Buds Pro and OnePlus Buds Pro 2, as well as the Ray Ban Meta smart glasses. I used the OnePlus 12 with my car stereo, and with an Xbox controller while playing games.

I tested the splash resistance of the OnePlus 12 by spraying it with water from my kitchen sink, but I did not submerge the phone.

For battery and benchmark testing, I worked with Future Labs to coordinate testing. I also tested the device’s charging on my own using a wireless AirVOOC charger supplied by OnePlus.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed February 2024

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro review: a gaming phone for everyone

2:01 pm | January 18, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Asus Phones Computers Gadgets Phones | Tags: OS, UFS | Comments: Off

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro: Two-minute review

Last year’s Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate was arguably the best gaming phone on the market, but there was a considerable price to be paid for such gaming excellence. Quite literally, thanks to its hefty price, but also because it wasn’t the easiest phone to live with day to day.

The Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro is still very expensive, and it’s still a superb gaming phone. However, a radical rethink from Asus means that it’s now also an accomplished flagship smartphone in its own right.

Its refreshed design is much more discreet than before, with less of the gamer bling that would embarrass anyone not in thrall to Twitch game streamer culture. Crucially, the ROG Phone 8 Pro has also gained a couple of quality-of-life features that we’ve come to take for granted in similarly priced non-gaming phones, including an IP68 rating and wireless charging.

Another welcome flagship addition is a decent camera system, which is capable of capturing bright, sharp images in a range of scenarios. It’s not a photography front-runner, but it’s plenty good enough for daily snapping, which is arguably a first in a gaming phone.

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro from the back — (Image credit: TechRadar)

Slimmer bezels mean you’ll have to put up with a punch-hole selfie cam this time around, and there’s no dual front-facing speaker set-up. Meanwhile, the ROG Phone 8 Pro can’t quite offer the same level of sustained high-end performance as the Nubia Red Magic 9 Pro - not without the clip-on AeroActive Cooler X fan, at least, which only ships with the top model.

Even so, this remains a brilliantly balanced gaming phone. Performance is some of the fastest we’ve seen in any handset, while the ROG Phone 8 Pro’s 6.78-inch 165Hz AMOLED display is big, fast, and color-accurate.

You still get those little extras that make for a superior gaming experience, too, including flexible Air Trigger shoulder buttons and a secondary USB-C port along one of the longer edges.

All in all, raw performance aside, it’s difficult to say that Asus has made a flat out better gaming phone in the ROG Phone 8 Pro. What it’s made is a very good gaming phone that won’t let you down when you’re doing non-gaming things, which is arguably a way more valuable advance.

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro review: Price and availability

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro screen — (Image credit: TechRadar)

From $1,099 / £949 (approximately AU$1,640)
Out now

The Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro is out now, as it started shipping on January 16, 2024.

While the ROG Phone 8 Pro comes in three variants, they’re so fundamentally similar that we’ll be treating them as a single entity for the purposes of this review. Pricing starts at $1,099 / £949 (approximately AU$1,640) for the plain Asus ROG Phone 8, which comes with 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and classic RGB lighting.

Moving up to the ROG Phone 8 Pro gives you 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, and switches to subtle LED lighting on the back for a price of $1,199 / £1,099 (around AU$1,790).

The top model – which is the one we’ve been sent, and available exclusively through the Asus official online store – is the ROG Phone 8 Pro Edition. This comes with 24GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, LED lighting, and an external AeroActive Cooler X fan bundled into the box at a cost of $1,499 / £1,299 (about AU$2,240).

Value score: 4 / 5

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro review: Specs

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro review: Design

Brand new less ‘gamery’ design
Air Trigger shoulder buttons
Two USB-C ports

Asus has gone back to the drawing board with the ROG Phone 8 Pro design, having seemingly come to a radical realization: most people don’t actually want a gaming phone in their pocket. Even among those who do, most would rather it didn’t look like a prototype based on an 11-year-old’s sketch.

Simply by looking and feeling relatively normal and understated, the ROG Phone 8 Pro comes as something of a revelation. It’s still large by anyone’s standards, and at 8.9mm thick and 225g it’s precisely as thick as the Red Magic 9 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, and scarcely any lighter.

But its subtly rounded edges, sober color tones, and the nice shimmery finish of the Pro model, make it look and feel more like a phone you’d be comfortable whipping out among polite non-gaming company. The cringey ‘Dare to win’ decals are still there on the back, but they’re rendered in small, dark writing this time around.

Choose the Pro model and you won’t even get RGB lighting. In its place comes a small area on the back cover embedded with 341 subtle white LEDs, which Asus calls AniMe Vision. These are turned off by default, and in this state, you wouldn’t even know they were there. When they’re switched on, they offer heads-up information on the phone’s time, charging status, incoming notifications, and a few other things that can be set in the Armoury Crate app.

Another design feature that makes the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro a more appealing mainstream proposition is the inclusion of IP68 certification. Finally, we have a gaming phone that won’t quit if you drop it in a body of water.

In order to hit that rating, Asus has done away with the huge AeroActive Portal from the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate, which exposed the internals of the phone when the AeroActive Cooler was attached. You still get an AeroActive Cooler X fan accessory with the top model of the ROG Phone 8 Pro, but it contents itself with drawing heat away from the rear surface. There’s a 2.6x larger cooling area and a slightly faster fan speed to compensate.

What might prove more disappointing to some gamers is the loss of two mappable physical trigger buttons with the AeroActive Cooler X. You now only get two, rather than four.

The other point to note is that, in radically reducing the size of the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro’s bezels, it’s almost 10mm shorter than its predecessor. That’s great for portability, but it does mean that the display is now interrupted by a punch-hole selfie cam.

Personally, I’d rather that than the Red Magic 9 Pro’s woeful in-display selfie cam solution. But if you’re making a gaming phone, there’s an even stronger case to be made for leaving a slight forehead and chin in place.

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro from the side — (Image credit: TechRadar)

That would also facilitate proper front-firing speakers, which are missing here. There’s one in the earpiece, but the other is on the bottom edge of the phone, which can be blocked when you hold it in landscape. These speakers still sound nice and clear, and they get plenty loud, but they’re shown up for separation and clarity by a teeny-tiny iPhone 15 Pro.

Two vital gaming design elements have been retained, however. One is a set of Air Triggers, which are dedicated capacitive buttons on the top edge of the phone. These can be mapped to controls in many games, which comes in very handy in competitive shooters and MOBAs. They can even be split into two for a total of four physical controls.

The other gamer-friendly feature to have been retained is a secondary USB-C port on the longer edge of the phone opposite the Air Triggers. This makes it much more pleasant to plug and play while you’re playing landscape games. And yes, there is still a 3.5mm headphone jack for that vital low-latency personal audio.

Design score: 4.5 / 5

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro review: Display

6.78-inch LTPO OLED
Super-fast refresh rates up to 165Hz
FHD+ resolution

Asus has fitted the ROG Phone 8 Pro with a new 6.78-inch E6 OLED display. It’s not particularly sharp at 1080 x 2400 (FHD+), especially when compared to other $1,199 / £1,099 Android phones, but I honestly have no complaints.

It gets extremely bright, with a claimed peak of 2,500 nits in HDR scenarios and 1,600 nits in high brightness mode, which will initiate when heading outdoors on a sunny day with auto-brightness on.

With auto-brightness switched off, I measured a maximum brightness of around 775 nits, which is excellent. The Red Magic 9 Pro, by way of comparison, could only hit 445 nits.

I also found the ROG Phone 8 Pro’s display to be extremely color-accurate and natural-looking, at least once I switched away from the default Optimal setting and flipped it to Normal mode.

This is an LTPO panel, so it can scale from 1 to 120Hz in regular usage depending on the use case, meaning it’s nice and energy efficient when flitting between non-gaming tasks.

Head into gaming mode, however, and it can ramp up even further to 165Hz. There aren’t many games that will step north of 120Hz, of course, but the ROG Phone 8 Pro is ready for any that do.

Display score: 4.5 / 5

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro review: Cameras

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro camera close-up — (Image credit: TechRadar)

Massively improved 1/1.56-inch main camera with gimbal
13-inch ultra-wide with freeform lens
Finally, a dedicated 32MP 3x telephoto

Giving your gaming phone a chic design is all very well, but if you want the masses to take it seriously as a genuine flagship contender, you’d better get your camera game in shape. Thankfully, Asus has done just that.

It starts with a vastly improved main camera, fitted with the same 1/1.56-inch Sony IMX890 sensor as the OnePlus 11. This is then paired with a new generation of the impressive 6-axis Hybrid Gimbal stabilizer found in the Asus Zenfone 10, which keeps things way steadier than your standard optical image stabilization (OIS) system.

This combination of components, together with Asus’s contrasty image science, produces well exposed and detailed shots in a range of lighting conditions. Night shots are particularly crisp here, with that larger sensor and gimbal system holding things steady during the necessary extended shutter times.

It’s not just night shots that the gimbal helps with either, with video footage also kept super-steady. This is illustrated by a neat UI element: so long as you keep the dot within the circle, you can be sure the gimbal is doing its thing.

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro camera samples

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An Asus ROG Phone 8 camera sample — A photo taken with the main camera (Image credit: TechRadar)

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Hyper Steady mode goes even further, cropping in and using electronic image stabilization (EIS) to further even things out during particularly active shoots. You can shoot at up to 8K and 24fps or 4K at 60fps here, though Hyper Steady mode is only available at 1080p/30fps.

The photographic improvements continue with the provision of a 32MP 3x telephoto camera. Previous ROG Phone models haven’t bothered, supplying a pointless macro camera instead. Zoomed shots taken with this dedicated component turned out to be crisp, clear, and tonally similar to the main sensor.

If there’s a weak point it’s the ROG Phone 8 Pro’s 13MP ultra-wide camera, which notably falls off in tone, detail, and dynamic range compared to the other two. Still, Asus has supplied a freeform lens, which reduces distortion towards the edges.

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro camera UI — (Image credit: TechRadar)

Asus’s AI image processing didn’t always call the scene right in my experience. This is illustrated in one selection of shots of an old train carriage, which the main sensor and the telephoto seemed to overexpose, while the ultra-wide went in the opposite direction.

The 32MP selfie camera, too, lacks a certain degree of subject sharpness, with slightly smudgy skin tones. It does have the distinction of being capable of a wider ‘0.7x’ view in addition to a cropped 1x view, however, so you have some flexibility with group and landscape selfies.

To be clear, the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro doesn’t rival the iPhone 15 Pro, Google Pixel 8 Pro, or Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra in the camera department. Which, given its pricing, you might well expect it to do. However, given the calamitous history of gaming phone cameras, this represents a huge step forwards into respectability.

Camera score: 4 / 5

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro review: Performance

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro playing a game — (Image credit: TechRadar)

Packs the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip
12GB, 18GB, or 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM
256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage

As smart as the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro looks in its new suit, we’re still all here for the performance. Thankfully, it’s an absolute barnstormer, with only the barest of wrinkles to speak off.

Let’s start with the specs, because they’re all cutting edge. You get Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, which is going to be the go-to chip for 2024.

This is accompanied by up to 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM in the top Pro Edition, which we’d ordinarily dismiss as overkill. In a pricey gaming phone such as this, though, it seems far more reasonable.

With such components at its disposal, Asus has turned the performance tap on full. My Geekbench 6 CPU benchmark tests reveal a multi-core score of around 7,200, which broadly matched side-by-side test results from the Red Magic 9 Pro and the iPhone 15 Pro.

Across the suite of GFXBench GPU-focused benchmarks, the ROG Phone 8 Pro trounced the Red Magic 9 Pro in the on-screen tests, and matches it in off-screen tests. You can likely put that disparity down to the Red Magic 9 Pro’s higher screen resolution.

Where the Red Magic 9 Pro wins back some ground – and it’s not an insignificant victory – is in sustained performance. The 3DMark Solar Bar Stress Test runs 20-minute-long loops of a high-intensity graphical workout, mimicking sustained high-end 3D gameplay. The ROG Phone 8 Pro scored 92.2%, reflecting the fact that its performance remained at a fairly consistent rate from the first loop to the last.

That’s much better than most normal flagship phones, which tend to score in the 70 to 80% region. However, it falls short of the Red Magic 9 Pro, which scored a nigh-on perfect 99.7%. The reason for this is almost certainly the ROG Phone’s lack of an integrated fan cooling system. Sure enough, with the AeroActive Cooler X attached to the back of the ROG, it scored 98.3% in the same test.

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro with AeroActive Cooler X fan attached — (Image credit: TechRadar)

I should also note that the ROG Phone 8 Pro had gotten extremely toasty by the end of this 20-minute GPU workout, to the point where it was uncomfortable to hold. It’s something to bear in mind if you’re someone who plays graphically advanced games for extended periods, though no current games will push a phone quite so hard.

In summary, then, the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro is one of the very strongest performers on the market. It falls slightly short of the Red Magic 9 Pro when it comes to sustained gaming performance, unless you purchase the top model and fit the AeroActive Cooler X fan, but it’ll still blow through any modern game you can throw at it on the very highest graphical settings with contemptuous ease.

There’s ample space for storing games and media files, too, with a choice of 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of storage depending on the model.

Performance score: 5 / 5

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro review: Software

Android 14 with ROG UI
Armour Crate app to fine-tune gaming settings
At least two OS updates, four years of security updates

Asus’s custom UI is one of the less tinkered-with on the Android market. Compared to Nubia’s Red Magic OS 9.0, it’s absolute bliss to deal with, and I encountered none of the set-up woes or bugs that we encountered with the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate.

The joy starts right at the outset, where Asus gives you the choice of the stock Android or Asus Optimized quick settings panel and a more Classic (i.e. stock) home screen layout. I dearly wish more (read: all) Android manufacturers did this.

Essentially, ROG UI is the same as Zen UI on the Zenfone 10. There are a few cosmetic tweaks to the Google formula, some ugly ‘gamer’ wallpapers, and some added pre-installed apps like Gallery and the Link to Windows app. There are also a couple of third-party apps pre-installed in Instagram and Facebook, but it’s nothing egregious.

The main nod to gamers here is the Armoury Crate app, which is where you can go to tweak performance modes, Air Trigger configurations, and to load up shared custom macros on a game-by-game basis.

You can also bring up an Armoury Crate UI over your current game by swiping down from the top corner. This is most useful when you want to map those Air Trigger controls.

Asus promises at least two major OS updates, bringing the ROG Phone 8 Pro up to Android 16, and four years of security updates. It’s not among the leading pack of premium Android phones in this department, which is shame give how future-proof the hardware is.

Software score: 4 / 5

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro review: Battery

5,500mAh battery is smaller than before
All day usage, but not the strongest gaming phone stamina
65W wired and 15W wireless charging

In order to pull off this sleeker design, Asus has taken the slightly concerning step of downsizing the ROG Phone 8 Pro’s battery. While the ROG Phone 7 had a 6,000mAh battery, the new model only has a 5,500mAh cell.

Improvements to the efficiency of the chip and the display technology obviously go some way to offsetting this, but even Asus has admitted to a slight drop in stamina compared to its previous model. That’s not the ideal direction of travel for a gaming phone, where a ‘higher, further, faster, baby’ motto tends to apply.

It’s also worth pointing out that the Nubia Red Magic 9 Pro offers a 6,500mAh battery, which is significantly larger.

Sure enough, I was unable to get quite the same practical battery life out of the ROG Phone 8 Pro as its significantly cheaper rival. In an average full day of moderate usage with about four hours of screen-on time, I would be left with a little shy of 50% left in the tank. That’s not a bad result by any means, but it falls way short of the Red Magic 9 Pro on 65%.

Given the lower capacity of its battery, the 65W charger Asus bundles in yields similar results to the Red Magic 9 Pro. Charging from empty got me to 100% in around 40 minutes.

The ROG Phone 8 Pro also has an ace up its sleeve in the form of 15W wireless charging, which is something that previous gaming phones have omitted. It’s another feature that makes this the most easy gaming phone to live with.

Battery score: 4.5 / 5

Should you buy the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro?

Buy it if...

You want a gaming phone that won’t embarrass you
The ROG Phone 8 Pro is an excellent gaming performer, but it’s not too garish or cheap-looking like other gaming phones – both in terms of hardware and software.

You want a gaming phone with all the creature comforts
Gaming phones tend to omit wireless charging, a full IP rating, and a telephoto camera. The Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro is the first one that doesn’t.

You want a flagship phone with excellent sustained performance
There are fast flagship phones out there, but none can keep up that performance over a long period like the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro.

Don't buy it if...

You want an affordable gaming phone
The Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro is not cheap, and you can get a broadly competitive gaming phone experience elsewhere for a fraction of the price.

You like your phones slim and light
Despite its refined design, the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro is still a chunky device.

You want a phone for the long haul
Asus is only promising two years of major Android updates with the ROG Phone 8 Pro.

Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro review: Also consider

The Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro is a unique gaming phone that will serve you well in everyday life, but it’s not your only option. These phones can tick some of the same boxes, and a few others besides.

Nubia Red Magic 9 Pro
The Red Magic 9 Pro is the ROG Phone 8 Pro’s major gaming phone rival. It tops the ROG Phone on sustained performance and stamina and is around half the price, though its design, software and camera fall way short.

Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
The Asus ROG Phone 7 Ultimate isn’t as fast as the ROG Phone 8 Pro, and it’s much less pleasant to look at and use day to day. However, it’s more gaming-focused, and should now be cheaper too.

iPhone 15 Pro Max
For around the same price as the top ROG Phone 8 Pro model, Apple’s super-sized phone offers competitive gaming performance (though not over sustained periods) and a better all-round smartphone experience, as well as access to a new breed of console games.

How I tested the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro

Review test period = 1 month
Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
Tools used = Geekbench 6, GFXBench, 3DMark, native Android stats, bundled Asus 65W power adapter

I was sent the top Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro Edition model by a PR representative, at which point I commenced using the phone on a daily basis over a two-week period, followed by a further two weeks of intermittent usage.

For at least a week of that time, the 8 Pro was my everyday phone. For the rest of the time, I swapped in another active SIM and continued to use the phone for benchmark tests, gaming, photos, and general browsing.

First reviewed January 2024

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review – finally, the Plus has a reason to exist

9:00 pm | January 17, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Phones Samsung Galaxy Phones | Tags: AI, Android Auto, OS, US | Comments: Off

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus: Two-minute preview

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus was rumored to be the last Plus-branded entry in Samsung’s long-running flagship Galaxy S series, and had a successor – the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus – not been unveiled at Galaxy Unpacked 2024, it would’ve been easy to forgive the company for calling time on its awkwardly-positioned middle-child devices.

Despite offering Galaxy Ultra sizing at a more accessible price, Samsung’s Galaxy Plus phones have seldom, if ever, proven better value for money than its all-singing, all-dancing Ultra devices. This year, though, the Galaxy S24 Plus is a much more enticing proposition: its display is objectively better than the one you'll find on the standard-sized Samsung Galaxy S24, and it doesn’t lose out on the impressive AI features that Samsung is touting as the key selling point of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Specifically, the Galaxy S24 Plus benefits from QHD+ display technology – a feature previously reserved for the Galaxy S23 Ultra – and a bespoke Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset (or Samsung’s own Exynos 2400, depending on your region) that places AI at the forefront of the mobile experience. The former upgrade is far from game-changing – it essentially means the Plus’s 6.7-inch screen is sharper and more detailed than the S24’s FHD+ equivalent – but it’s enough to better differentiate the Plus from its cheaper sibling. The latter, by contrast, brings a parity to the Galaxy S24 range that we haven’t seen, well, ever.

Galaxy AI is the umbrella term for Samsung’s suite of AI-powered features, which range from real-time text and call translation to generative photo editing. I tried out several of these features during my brief hands-on time with the Galaxy S24 Plus, and while their level of real-world utility remains to be seen, their seamless integration into Samsung’s One UI is seriously impressive.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus hands on front handheld angled home screen — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

On the physical upgrade front, the Galaxy S24 Plus sports marginally narrower bezels and a slightly flatter design than its predecessor, though its (supposedly stronger) Armor Aluminum frame is the most noticeable change. The phone’s 4,900mAh battery is a touch larger, too, though this is unlikely to equate to much (if any) real-world battery life improvement.

If you’re after the best camera phone around, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the way to go, but the new Plus model boasts some decent photography hardware nonetheless. The phone retains its predecessor’s 50MP wide lens (f/1.8), 12MP ultra-wide lens (f/2.2), 10MP telephoto lens (f/2.4, 3x optical zoom), and 12MP selfie camera (f/2.2), though the aforementioned addition of Galaxy AI has thrown some neat new AI-powered editing capabilities into the mix.

I haven’t spent enough time with the Galaxy S24 Plus to deliver a full verdict on its value-for-money offering yet, but after some brief hands-on time with the device at Galaxy Unpacked 2024, I can safely say that Samsung’s latest second-tier flagship is an objectively better phone than last year’s S23 Plus – and one that might finally make buyers think twice.

If you're interested in our thoughts on the other new Galaxy phones, check out our hands-on Samsung Galaxy S24 review and our hands-on Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review.

Hands-on Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: Price and availability

Starts at $999 / £999 / AU$1,699
Preorders are open now
Shipping from January 31

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus was announced at Samsung’s latest Galaxy Unpacked event on January 17, 2024. Samsung Galaxy S24 preorders are live now, and all three new devices will begin shipping on January 31.

Pricing for the Galaxy S24 Plus starts at $999 / £999 / AU$1,699 for the base configuration (8GB RAM / 256GB storage), and rises to £1,099 / AU$1,899 for the model with 8GB RAM / 512GB storage. I’ll be updating this article with US pricing for the latter configuration as soon as I have it.

For comparison, the Galaxy S23 Plus started at $999.99 / £1,049 / $1,649 for the model with 8GB RAM / 256GB storage, so £999 marks a welcome £50 decrease (in the UK, at least).

Hands-on Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: Specs

Here's a look at the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus' specs and how it compares to its stablemates.

Hands-on Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: Design

Slightly flatter edges and narrower bezels
New Armor Aluminum frame

Samsung Galaxy S24 S24 Plus S24 Ultra hands on back straight — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

For the second year running, Samsung’s newest Galaxy Plus model places emphasis on meaningful internal upgrades over a dramatic aesthetic redesign. But that’s not to say the Galaxy S24 Plus looks identical to its predecessor.

Measuring 158.5 x 75.9 x 7.7mm and weighing 196g, this year’s Plus phone has slightly narrower bezels, slightly flatter edges (think the iPhone 15 Pro and Galaxy Z Fold 5) and a more durable Armor Aluminum frame versus the Galaxy S23 Plus.

Personally, I’m all for the changes – the S23 Plus’s mirrored frame was a garish fingerprint magnet – although you’d be hard pressed to distinguish the Galaxy S24 Plus from its predecessor when viewing the two phones at a glance.

Hands-on Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: Display

QHD+ display for the first time in a Plus model
Enhanced outdoor visibility
New 2,600-nit peak brightness

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus hands on front handheld straight lock screen — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

For the first time, the display on Samsung’s latest Galaxy Plus model is objectively superior to the display used by its standard sibling. Specifically, the Galaxy S24 Plus uses a 6.65-inch dynamic AMOLED 2X display, with QHD+ technology that delivers improved sharpness and detail compared to the screen on the smaller Galaxy S24. Previously, QHD+ displays have been reserved for Samsung’s Ultra phones, and although the differences here aren’t all that noticeable, it’s good to see Samsung giving the Galaxy S24 Plus the best screen possible.

The other display upgrades are shared between the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus. Both phones get a new peak brightness of 2,600 nits, as well as improved outdoor visibility thanks to Samsung’s Vision Booster feature. Their refresh rates have also been improved – you’ll now get 1-120Hz instead of 48-120Hz.

All of these features combine to deliver the biggest, boldest and brightest Galaxy S Plus display yet, and although I’ll need to conduct further testing, I was able to use the phone under the bright lights of Samsung’s hands-on testing space without issue.

Hands-on Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: Cameras

Same triple-lens setup as the Galaxy S23 Plus
Up to 8K video at 30fps
AI features are impressive but potentially problematic

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus hands on camera closeup — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

If there’s one big disappointment with the Galaxy S24 Plus, it’s the lack of changes in the camera hardware department. The phone retains its predecessor’s 50MP wide lens (f/1.8), 12MP ultra-wide lens (f/2.2), 10MP telephoto lens (f/2.4, 3x optical zoom), and 12MP selfie camera (f/2.2). This isn’t necessarily a bad thing – I was impressed with the all-round photography capabilities of the Galaxy S23 Plus – but an S23 Ultra-style 200MP main sensor wouldn’t have gone amiss.

Samsung has instead turned to AI for this year’s camera-related Galaxy upgrades, with a suite of new editing tools on hand to help you re-compose and remaster photos. Edit Suggestion, for instance, uses Galaxy AI to suggest suitable photo tweaks, while Generative Edit can fill in parts of an image background with generative AI. Instant Slow-mo can generate additional frames to add more detail (or the illusion of more detail) to videos, while Super HDR reveals lifelike previews before the shutter is ever pressed.

I’ll need to further test these features before passing judgment on their utility, but the demos given by Samsung staff for each were supremely impressive. Generative AI looks particularly mind-blowing, although it does raise some awkward questions about authenticity, beauty standards, and the value of photography in 2024.

Hands-on Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: Performance

Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset in the US, Exynos 2400 elsewhere
Larger vapor chamber and ray tracing support

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus hands on back table angled — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Much to the chagrin of Samsung fans the world over, Samsung has again split the chipset offering for its latest Galaxy phones – though rumors suggest that the situation isn’t as bad as it was for the Galaxy S22 line, where the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 outperformed the Exynos 2200 by some margin).

Specifically, the chipset powering your Galaxy S24 Plus depends on the region in which you buy the phone. Those in the US get a bespoke version of Qualcomm’s newly released Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, while those in Europe and other regions get Samsung’s new Exynos 2400 chipset. Luckily, however, early benchmark results promise similar real-world performance from both chipsets, so I don’t expect the differences to be significant this year, although the Snapdragon may prove slightly more efficient than the Exynos in the long run.

In my brief time with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered Galaxy S24 Plus, the phone was able to juggle gaming, heavy-duty video recording, and multiple apps with ease.

Speaking of gaming, the Galaxy S24 Plus benefits from a vapor chamber that’s 1.9x larger than its predecessor, which Samsung says will deliver improved heat dissipation. All three Galaxy S24 phones offer ray tracing support, too, so the Galaxy S24 Plus might prove to be one of the best gaming phones of 2024.

Hands-on Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: Software

Galaxy AI enables several experience-enhancing features
Seven years of OS updates and seven years of security updates

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus hands on on-device AI only mode — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

The ace(s) in the hole for the Galaxy S24 Plus are its new AI capabilities, which Samsung says are “aimed at enhancing every part of life.” Here’s how the company describes the key features of Galaxy AI:

When you need to communicate defying language barriers, Galaxy S24 makes it easier than ever. Chat with a student or colleague from abroad. Book a reservation while on vacation in another country. It’s all possible with Live Translate, two-way, real-time voice and text translations of phone calls within the native app. No third-party apps are required, and on-device AI keeps conversations completely private.
With Interpreter, live conversations can be instantly translated on a split-screen view so people standing opposite each other can read a text transcription of what the other person has said. It even works without cellular data or Wi-Fi.
For messages and other apps, Chat Assist can help perfect conversational tones to ensure communication sounds as it was intended: like a polite message to a co-worker or a short and catchy phrase for a social media caption.
In the car meanwhile, Android Auto will automatically summarize incoming messages and suggest relevant replies and actions, like sending someone your ETA, so you can stay connected while staying focused on the road.
Organisation also gets a big boost with Note Assist in Samsung Notes, featuring AI-generated summaries, template creation that streamlines notes with pre-made formats, and cover creation to make notes easy to spot with a brief preview.
For voice recordings, even when there are multiple speakers, Transcript Assist uses AI and Speech-to-Text technology to transcribe, summarize and even translate recordings.
Communication isn’t the only way Galaxy S24 takes the fundamental benefits of the phone into the future. Online search has transformed nearly every aspect of life. Galaxy S24 marks a milestone in the history of search as the first phone to debut intuitive, gesture-driven Circle to Search with Google. With a long press on the home button, you can circle, highlight, scribble on, or tap anything on Galaxy S24’s screen to see helpful, high-quality search results.

Naturally, I’ll be taking these AI-powered features for a proper spin as I test the Galaxy S24 Plus for my full review, but the early signs are promising. Circle to Search with Google worked perfectly when I tried to identify a plant, two different watches and even my battered backpack during my hands-on session, while Live Translate worked well, too (though it remains to be seen how effective this feature will be when it comes to interpreting colloquialisms and muffled phrases).

Also on the software front, Samsung is committing to seven years of OS updates and seven years of security updates for the Galaxy S24 Plus and its siblings, which is a welcome improvement on the five years we’ve come to expect from the company (and brings the S24 range in line with the Google Pixel 8 and Apple’s latest iPhones). In other words, you’ll be able to use the Galaxy S24 Plus without fear of being left behind until at least 2031. Yikes.

Hands-on Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus review: Battery

4,900mAh battery is a slight upgrade

Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus hands on bottom handheld angled — (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

The Galaxy S24 Plus has a 4,900mAh battery, which is a 200mAh increase over the S23 Plus’s 4,700mAh power pack. That said, I’m not expecting the new phone to offer significantly better real-world battery life than its predecessor. I found that the Galaxy S23 Plus could comfortably last for almost two days when testing that phone, so I’m anticipating something similar from the Galaxy S24 Plus. I’ll confirm as much in my upcoming review of the phone.

Samsung Galaxy S24 review – the Galaxy’s pocket powerhouse

9:00 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Phones Samsung Galaxy Phones | Tags: AI, Google Pixel | Comments: Off

Samsung Galaxy S24: One-minute review

If you think the Samsung Galaxy S24 is basic compared to the mighty Galaxy S24 Ultra, think again. The smaller Galaxy S24 is a super-powered marvel, with all the processing power of Samsung’s best phone, packed into a much smaller design that is easier to fit into a fashionable pocket.

What can you do with this much power in such a small phone? You can use the new AI tools from Samsung and Google, including the cool Circle to Search that easily answers the question “hey, what’s that?!” whether you’re looking at a web page, a YouTube video, or even a photo you just took. You also get the Samsung Galaxy AI translation that work like magic, changing your words into a foreign tongue and letting you understand somebody across the language barrier.

You can also play games, obviously, and the Galaxy S24 is a gaming powerhouse, made better by its take-anywhere size. This phone easily beats the iPhone 15 in side-by-side gaming tests, and it approaches Pro power in terms of processing and productivity. It can even run Samsung DeX, the desktop environment that makes your phone work like a real computer when you plug in a keyboard, monitor, and mouse.

While Apple scrimps on the CPU in its iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, giving those phones last year’s processor, Samsung endows every Galaxy S24 phone with the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, at least in the US. Elsewhere, this phone and the Galaxy S24 Plus might use the Samsung Semiconductor Exynos 2400 chipset, and we’ll be testing that model shortly, but we expect performance will be similar no matter where you buy the S24 and S24 Plus.

Samsung Galaxy S24 battery settings — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The result is a phone that not only runs fast, but also runs a long time, as we’ve seen great battery performance from phones with the latest Snapdragon on board. In battery life, the Galaxy S24 easily beats competitors at this size and price, lasting hours longer than the iPhone 15 or Pixel 8.

The Galaxy S24 has a display that can crank out terrific brightness, though it isn’t the brightest or the sharpest display you’ll find. I had no complaints, even though I need to wear my reading glasses to read fine print at the highest resolution setting on the Galaxy S24. The display looks brilliant, no matter how bright or dim it was set.

For cameras, the Galaxy S24 can’t compete with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, a phone that costs $500 more in the US, but it has the specs and features to take on the latest Pixel, and iPhone 15 fans should be jealous of the real 3X zoom lens that the Galaxy offers. There’s no optical zoom on the iPhone 15, and once again Samsung wins with versatility, if not pure image quality.

It’s not all good news, though. Samsung’s software lags far behind. It’s a lustrous garden grown wild. Features never seem to die, they just snarl the home screen and make the Settings menu a thicket of thorns.

Samsung Galaxy S24 from the side showing camera lenses and back violet color — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Samsung needs to prune its features and simplify, especially if it wants to win over iPhone fans some day. The iPhone 15 doesn’t make you dig through three layers of Settings to find the coolest new features. It just works. Samsung needs to just work a lot more on its software, because the Galaxy gets harder to use every year. Soon, it will be too far gone.

If you want more battery life, more versatility, and some seriously powerful productivity features, the Samsung Galaxy S24 is the right choice. If you don’t care about all the extras and just want a phone that nails the basics, there are simpler and more elegant options available from Apple and Google, but Samsung gives you a sense of the possibilities that are coming in the future. You just have to drag the phone out of the past to find it.

Galaxy S24 review: Price and availability

Samsung Galaxy S24 in violet from back — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Starts at $799 / £799 / AU$1,399, and Aussies get more storage to start
Nobody pays full price for a Samsung phone
It’s worth spending more for the 256GB of storage (at least)

The Galaxy S24 is priced as expected, and it’s a bit less expensive in the UK than last year’s phone. You still get the same 128GB of storage, except in Australia where Samsung starts this phone at 256GB and offers a higher-capacity 512GB model. The extra storage is worth buying, since the cameras on the S24 are good enough that you could fill it up with photos and videos.

Samsung always seems to have deals available for Galaxy S phones, whether that’s doubling the storage for free or offering a bonus on your trade. In the US, Samsung will give you at least $100 for any phone you trade, which effectively knocks the price to $699 for almost everybody. At that price, the Galaxy S24 is a bit cheaper than Apple’s iPhone 15 (and Apple is NOT generous with trade in values), and closer to the Google Pixel 8 or OnePlus 12, with a similar trade offer.

Unless you are a serious camera hound, or you want a much bigger display, there’s no reason to spring for the Galaxy S24 Ultra instead. It’s a massive price jump that doesn’t equate to a big performance boost. Sure, the Ultra is a bigger phone with a bigger battery inside, so it lasts a bit longer, but otherwise performance is very similar when you are playing games or running intense apps, like Adobe Lightroom for photo editing.

The Galaxy S24 is a great value compared to the competition at this price. It’s far more powerful than the Google Pixel 8, and though both phones come with a promise of seven years of Android updates, it’s easier to envision the Galaxy S24 lasting until 2031, while I can’t imagine a Pixel 8 that’s capable of anything in seven years.

Compared to the iPhone 15, you certainly get a lot more with the Galaxy S24, including a real zoom lens and a much bigger battery, but the experience is entirely different. Apple phones work best when you know more people with Apple phones, so if all of your friends are on iPhone, it may be worth getting a phone with iOS 17 so you can NameDrop and blue-bubble all you like. Apple phones also tend to hold their value better than Android phones, though that gap is closing every year.

Value score: 4 / 5

Galaxy S24 review: Specs

Samsung Galaxy S24 home screen — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Galaxy S24 may be the ‘base model’ of the family, but it’s no slouch in terms of specs. It has the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor that makes the Galaxy S24 Ultra blazing fast, and it has more camera options and a bigger battery than a comparable iPhone 15. The display is also better than other phones this size — it’s brighter than even the Pixel 8, with better color accuracy as well.

Galaxy S24 review: Design

Samsung Galaxy S24 violet from the side — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Looks a lot like an iPhone 15
Lots of unique color options at launch
No titanium or Gorilla Armor, that’s Ultra-only

The Samsung pendulum sways back and forth between copying Apple and striking out on its own. This year the Galaxy S24 is much closer to the iPhone 15 design than it has been in many years, while the S24 Ultra looks just a bit more unique. It’s the curve at the corners of the display that really bring home the similarity. The Galaxy S24, like an iPhone, is well-rounded at the corners, while the S24 Ultra is all right angles.

This isn’t a terrible thing, it just isn’t very unique. At least Samsung has some nice colors this year. My review unit came in the Cobalt Violet color, which is very pretty but a little sad, like the stormy purple Apple once used on its iPhone. More vibrant are the Sandstone Orange and Amber Yellow options. I wish they were a bit more saturated and prime, but they do look natural, with a nice matte finish and texture to the back glass.

The glass is unfortunately Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which was the best of the best last year, but now we’ve seen Gorilla Armor on the Galaxy S24 Ultra and it’s hard to settle for less. My Galaxy S24 review unit already has a scratch on the back glass, and I don’t have a case for this phone yet. Gorilla Armor is more scratch resistant, and Samsung has done a great job reducing reflections and glare, but only on the Ultra model.

Samsung still does a great job keeping its phones thin and light. This is no Ultra, and if you want a phone you can use with one hand, the Galaxy S24 is a great option. It’s thinner than the iPhone or Google Pixel, and it’s also the lightest of the bunch. Usually a lighter phone means less battery inside, but the Galaxy S24 beats all competitors for battery life, so it’s not a concern.

Design score: 4 / 5

Galaxy S24 review: Display

Samsung Galaxy S24 generative AI home screen wallpaper — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Excellent display is colorful and bright
Not as sharp as some competitors, but still looks great
Maybe too small for all the features Samsung crams in

Samsung is a perennial favorite when it comes to smartphone displays, and the Galaxy S24 is no disappointment, but it also isn’t the clear winner in any aspect. I enjoyed reading web pages, playing games, and editing photos on the smaller screen, and even small text was legible and sharp (with proper eyewear). The screen was also plenty bright, even in outdoor sunlight taking photos with the camera.

Samsung isn’t giving us the sharpest display with the Galaxy S24, and it’s odd for the company to fall behind a bit. The Google Pixel 8 and iPhone 15 both have a higher pixel density, making them technically sharper, though you might not notice the difference. The Galaxy S24 can get brighter than both of those phones, but OnePlus is pulling some 4,500 nit magic out of its hat with the similarly-priced OnePlus 12, so Samsung isn’t the resounding brightness winner.

Overall I had no complaints about the display unless I’m truly nitpicking. In our Future Labs tests, the Galaxy S24 had a wider color gamut than any competitor. Samsung is still sticky about Dolby Vision HDR support, which is what Netflix favors, but HDR10+ content looks great, and you can find that on every other major streamer.

While I like carrying a smaller phone, the six-inch display on the Galaxy S24 isn’t quite big enough to hold all of Samsung’s features. The Edge Panel is turned on by default, and it takes up so much room on the side of the phone that it was easy to swipe it open accidentally when I just wanted to use a back swipe gesture.

The Quick Panel also became more complex, and this makes it harder to read and use on the smaller Galaxy S24 display than it was on larger Samsung screens. Overall, more software simplicity would help show off that screen, instead of bogging it down with icons and menu clutter.

Display score: 4 / 5

Galaxy S24 review: Software

Samsung Galaxy S24 showing edge panels and home screen clutter — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Needs a lot of work to simplify and improve
Too many features are buried in Settings menu
Too many features, period

The good news about software on the Galaxy S24 is that it can do just about everything the Galaxy S24 Ultra can do, short of using the S Pen. The bad news is that it can do everything the Galaxy S24 Ultra can do, and no less. Every bit of complexity, often designed for the largest smartphone display possible, is still present in the Galaxy S24. It’s a mess.

The Galaxy S24 is super-powered, there is no doubt. There are big software features, like Samsung DeX, which gives you a Chromebook-like interface when you plug your phone into an external monitor. There are also fine, granular controls over everything, from battery and power management to Wi-Fi and networking to screen response and menus to … well, everything. There is no end to what you can do with the Galaxy S24, and it is easy to get very lost.

Samsung needs to simplify. There are too many features that are impossible to find, like wireless power sharing, which should let me charge my earbuds by setting the case on top of my Galaxy S24. Unfortunately, I can’t find the button to make this happen, not without a treasure map and a pickaxe (it’s under Battery, that’s my only hint to you).

The software problems are starting to feel like laziness. In setting up my Galaxy S24, I was excited when my older Samsung phone found the new S24 quickly and offered to transfer all of my stuff. This process quickly failed without warning, and I had to repeat it. After it failed the second time, I was asked on another screen to use Samsung Smart Switch, which somehow worked. Why not just start there?

The first time I turned on the Galaxy S24, I needed to update a ton of apps in the Google Play Store, and the updates failed, then disappeared. I opened the Galaxy App Store and found a slew of updates there, as well, even though there was no notification. My Galaxy was suddenly downloading strange Samsung software, including a blockchain manager? I don’t use anything blockchain at all.Then there are all the apps. There are too many apps from Samsung, too many apps from Google, and somehow even Microsoft gets its own folder?! On a Samsung phone, running a Google operating system? Good job, Microsoft. I hope it got what it paid for.

All of this just feels lazy, or cynical, or both. It doesn’t feel like Samsung has my best interest at heart, from the moment I start using the Galaxy S24. It feels like the software is pushing me to do more, to buy more, and use more. I just want simplicity. I just want it to work.

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Samsung Galaxy S24 apps screen showing all preloaded apps from Samsung, Google, and Microsoft — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

All the apps preloaded on the Galaxy S24

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All the apps preloaded on the Galaxy S24

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All the apps preloaded on the Galaxy S24

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All the apps preloaded on the Galaxy S24

Then there are all the apps. There are too many apps from Samsung, too many apps from Google, and somehow even Microsoft gets its own folder?! On a Samsung phone, running a Google operating system? Good job, Microsoft. I hope it got what it paid for.

Software score: 2 / 5

Galaxy S24 review: Cameras

Samsung Galaxy S24 camera app with my dog Beesly — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Most versatile cameras on a phone this price
Great image quality with better color and dynamic range
Cool new AI photo editing tools are fun to try

Sure, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is our top camera phone, but that doesn’t mean the Galaxy S24 is a slouch. Most of the great work Samsung has done improving its image processing carries through here. Photos I shot with the Galaxy S24 look better, more natural, than photos taken with either the Galaxy S23 or my iPhone 15.

You also get a real zoom lens with the Galaxy S24, and it helps a great deal. Having a real 3X zoom brings you closer to the field, or the stage, even if the zoom lens is paired to a woefully small sensor that produces images with more noise and blur than I’d like. No matter, neither the Pixel 8 nor the iPhone 15 has optical zoom around back, and real zoom is always better than digital zoom, all things being equal.

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Samsung Galaxy S24 camera lenses up close macro photos — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

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You might occasionally get better shots from the main camera on the iPhone 15, and the Google Pixel 8 does a better job with low light images, but the Galaxy S24 is much more versatile. I actually find Samsung’s different camera modes, like the Food mode or the dual-camera video recording mode, to be fun and useful. My baked goods look delectable when I shoot them with the Galaxy, and the dual-camera video is great for reaction shots with my kiddo.

Samsung also brings a bunch of AI tricks into the camera, both in the Camera app and Samsung’s image Gallery. I wish there weren’t two photo apps, including Google Photos, but here we are. Unlike the Pixel, which gives you AI editing in Google Photos, Samsung keeps its Magic Editor software in the Gallery.

With Magic Editor, you can resize an object in your photo and move it around. You can erase the background entirely and replace it with something new. The phone will use AI to figure out what’s happening in the foreground and match the new background appropriately. There is also a tool that adds more background to an image if you rotate it and end up with blank space.

In practice, these are surprisingly useful. I like erasing spectators in the way when I’m trying to see my kid on the field. The generative AI did a nice job without a heavy hand, and the results usually looked natural enough. I hope Samsung doesn’t go too much further into creating fake imagery, but the Galaxy S24 will affix a watermark to images that have been edited using AI.

Galaxy S24 camera samples

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Samsung Galaxy S24 image samples from cameras — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

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Camera score: 4 / 5

Galaxy S24 review: Performance

Samsung Galaxy S24 quick settings panel — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Excellent performance, close to the Galaxy S24 Ultra
More RAM would help, but isn’t necessary
Only hiccups were new AI features

Don’t let the smaller size of the Galaxy S24 fool you, Samsung has given this phone the same powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy processor found in the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It’s even overclocked a bit compared to the same processor in competitors' phones, like the OnePlus 12, so it will outperform any other Android you’ll find, and any iPhone 15 that isn’t a Pro model.

What can you do with that performance? You can play games like Call of Duty Mobile at the highest settings and still hit 60fps. You can run Adobe Lightroom and watch your photo edits happen in real-time as you move the sliders. You can run Samsung DeX and open multiple windows on your monitor simultaneously. There’s a ton of power packed into this phone.

The only time I saw a real delay was when I used the new Google and Galaxy AI features. Holding down the home button to activate Google’s circle to search took a few moments. In fact, I wasn’t sure the feature was actually working at first because I wasn’t patient enough waiting for it to start.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Advanced Intelligence settings — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Using Samsung’s Galaxy AI features caused a similar delay. When I asked the keyboard to rewrite my text messages, there was a long pause. When I recorded a speech using the Voice Recorder, it could not transcribe on the fly, like my Pixel 8 can, and there was a longer delay when I asked for a summary.

It’s too bad that Samsung has a performance leader that can beat a comparable iPhone, but the new AI features are the only thing that slows it down. It’s unclear if this will get any faster with software updates, as the AI features are a mix of cloud services and on-device processing. There are bottlenecks with both.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra technically outperformed the Galaxy S24, likely due to the extra RAM on board. The Galaxy S24 only ships with 8GB of RAM installed, while the S24 Ultra comes with 12GB. In practice, it was hard to see a difference unless I held the phones side-by-side, and then I noticed the S24 Ultra finishing some tasks just a bit faster. The Galaxy S24 was still able to open multiple apps at once and handle gaming at the highest graphics levels, so I had no complaints about its performance.

Performance score: 4 / 5

Galaxy S24 review: Battery life

Samsung Galaxy S24 USB C charging port — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Excellent battery life, even though the battery didn’t grow much
Charging speeds could be faster
Plenty of power management, hidden under software menus

The Galaxy S24 has a battery that is only slightly larger than last year’s Galaxy S23, but battery life has seen a significant improvement, giving me hours more active screen time and lasting a full day with little trouble. On a normal day of use, the Galaxy S24 lasted until bed time with no trouble. On a day of heavy gaming and photography, I still lasted into the evening with a quick top up while I was making dinner.

I wish the Galaxy S24 would charge faster, as things haven’t improved since last year. I was able to get the battery to just over 50% in 30 minutes, just like with my iPhone 15. The Pixel 8 charges a bit faster, but cool phones like the OnePlus 12 (which costs the same) can charge at extreme speeds and fill the battery completely in a half hour.

There are plenty of adaptive modes to help you save battery life, but good luck finding them in Samsung’s terrible Settings menu. You can just trust that the phone will do a good job, like I did, and occasionally turn on Power Saving from the Quick Settings panel, which will work nicely.

Battery score: 5 / 5

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S24?

Samsung Galaxy S24 home screen options — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Buy it if...

You want a pocketable powerhouse phone
The Galaxy S24 is the most powerful phone you’ll find at this size and this price. Samsung didn’t skimp on its smaller model’s power like Apple does.

You use your phone for work a lot
Many of Samsung’s best Galaxy S24 features are made for work users, like Samsung DeX, which lets you run your phone as a full desktop computer to get real work done.

You want zoom without spending a fortune
Other phones in this price range don’t give you the camera versatility of the Galaxy S24, which includes a real 3X optical zoom that outmatches the Pixel 8 and iPhone 15.

Don't buy it if...

You want a phone that is simple to use
The Galaxy S24 is powerful and capable, but there is nothing simple about this phone. It is packed with features and many are turned on by default, so there is a steep learning curve.

All your friends have an iPhone
There are a lot of sharing features between iPhone users that make Apple’s phone great, and it’s worth considering if you don’t want to be left out of the next NameDrop.

You want the best cameras, battery and performance
If you’re considering the S24 instead of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, let’s be clear that the Ultra is the clear winner for cameras, battery life, and the performance, and that’s before we take out the S Pen.

Galaxy S24 review: Also consider

The Galaxy S24 is a great pick for the price, but there are still reasons to look elsewhere. If you're not sold on Samsung's smaller Galaxy, check out these other options from Apple, Google, and OnePlus.

Apple iPhone 15
The iPhone 15 is simple, elegant, and loaded with features that work with other iPhone users, like Apple’s new NameDrop and safety Check In. If you’re in an iPhone crowd, it’s worth considering.

Google Pixel 8
The Pixel 8 isn’t as powerful as the Galaxy S24, but Google still adds exclusive AI features and Pixel feature drops that make its phones special. Plus, Google promises seven years of Android updates, just like Samsung.

OnePlus 12
The OnePlus 12 isn’t as durable as the Galaxy S24, it isn’t totally water resistant, but it might be the one competitor that can beat the Galaxy for battery life, camera capabilities, and even performance. You just don’t get everything in the Galaxy with a OnePlus.

How I tested the Samsung Galaxy S24

I tested the Galaxy S24 for one week of intense use, immediately after testing the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which uses the same software version and features. I used the Galaxy S24 to its limits, testing every new feature, especially AI. I used AI for messaging, searching, and note-taking, in addition to testing the translation features with my son, who is taking Chinese in school, and local restaurants. I also tested DeX for work, Bixby for interface control, and many other Samsung features.

I played games with the Galaxy S24, mostly Call of Duty Mobile and Marvel Snap, in addition to trying others, like the new Warcraft Rumble game that just launched. I play games at the maximum settings, with Bluetooth headphones and a Bluetooth joystick attached where appropriate.

I also tested the Galaxy S24 with accessories and external devices, including Ray Ban Meta smart glasses, and a variety of wireless earbuds, including Galaxy Buds FE, Pixel Buds Pro, and Nothing Stick 2 earbuds. I used a Dell monitor, Razer Blackwidow keyboard, and Logitech Master MX 2 mouse for DeX.

The Galaxy S24 was benchmarked in Future Labs by our resident benchmarking expert, and results were shared and discussed with review editors. Benchmarks do not affect review scores in any way, and are helpful for comparison but not for real-world review purposes.

I tested the Galaxy S24 camera in a shootout against the OnePlus 12 and Galaxy S24 Ultra. I took hundreds of photographs under the same lighting conditions for each, with similar settings enabled. Then, I compared the photographs when viewed on a professional Dell monitor at full resolution.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed February 2024

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review: taken to the extreme

9:00 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Phones Samsung Galaxy Phones | Tags: AI, Dolby Vision, Google Pixel, OS | Comments: Off

Editor's Note

• Original review date: January 2024
• Camera updates continue to roll out
• Launch price: $1,299.99 / £1,249 / AU$2,199
• Lowest price on Amazon: $1,149.99 / £1,040 / AU$2,199

Update: April 2024. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is not only our pick for the best smartphone overall, it's also our favorite camera phone, at the top of our best camera phone list. That means that all eyes are on the S24 Ultra and the images it produces. Perhaps that's why Samsung keeps releasing camera updates to improve the image quality and stability of the camera system. We're on our third update since the phone launched, and image quality was always good, but Samsung is going to keep tweaking this phone, probably until we have a Galaxy S25 Ultra to play with.

Galaxy S24 Ultra: Two-minute review

If you made a list of everything you’d want on the best phone you can buy, your list would point to one phone: the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Samsung is clearly working from the same list, and the S24 Ultra will please fans and tech enthusiasts alike. In many ways, including some I didn’t expect, the Galaxy S24 Ultra proves itself the best phone you can buy at any price.

Do you want the best battery life? The Galaxy S24 Ultra outlasts the best iPhones and every previous Galaxy phone; it lasts more than a day with intense use.

Do you want the best cameras around? The Galaxy S24 Ultra takes better photos than its predecessor, no matter what the spec sheet says. It remains the most versatile camera phone for all types of photographs. Your artistic friends may prefer the iPhone 15 Pro, but you’ll take better shots of everything if you have a Galaxy S24 Ultra.

What else do you need? If you play games, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is one of the best gaming phones ever. It outperforms the best Android gaming phones, and it can even beat the blazing-fast iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra lock screen — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

If you use your phone for work, the S24 Ultra has professional features that even the Pro iPhone can’t top, like Samsung DeX software that turns your phone into a veritable laptop, complete with windows and an application dock.

Samsung is relentless. In its pursuit to push the Galaxy S24 Ultra further than any phone that came before, it has mostly succeeded. And yet, more than ever, it’s apparent what is missing: elegance and simplicity.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is the best phone you can buy in all of the ways that should matter. It’s also the culmination of Samsung’s worst instincts. And while fans won’t mind suffering for Samsung’s advancements, this phone won’t be winning any switchers from the competition.

Samsung’s software is a mess. It’s a morass of settings, hidden features, and useless options that clutter the interface. It’s a jumble of features that were old five years ago, but which haven’t been either updated or abandoned since.

For every new feature Samsung adds to excite buyers, it takes two steps back, hiding those features beneath further settings menus and layers of options. If you were expecting to find new AI features on the Galaxy S24 Ultra you won’t be disappointed, as long as you’re willing to look three layers deep in the Settings app.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra showing tiktok — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Samsung also may have squandered its brief performance lead on fanciful AI features that don’t work very well, or aren’t useful at all. Even if you find the language translation feature magical, you’ll also find a useless AI button that will reformat your Samsung Notes (who uses those?), or offer an inaccurate summarization of the web page you’re reading (gee, thanks).

Worst of all, these AI features add a delay. While you’re speeding around the new Galaxy at the fastest clip ever, these new AI features are speed bumps on the highway, and the results are just as welcome. I’m hopeful that useful AI advancements are coming, but right now we’re suffering through a lot of proofs of concept, and it’s only slowing down this otherwise lightning-fast phone.

The bottom line for the Galaxy S24 Ultra is still very high in the sky. This phone is the best you can buy, and all the software frustration and useless AI features won’t keep me from appreciating the weekend-long battery life, the unfailing cameras, and the endlessly-useful S Pen.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra from the back with S Pen mostly withdrawn — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

This is the phone I use instead of my laptop or my tablet, because it’s more powerful and convenient when I need to get work done. This is the phone I show off when I want people to see what technology is coming in the near future. This is the phone I carry when I want to carry next to nothing, but still do everything.

I wish the Galaxy S24 Ultra was much easier to use, and maybe AI can solve Samsung’s usability problems in the future. I think Samsung needs a reckoning before that happens. The iPhone 15 Pro with iOS 17 is not just simpler, it’s more fun and sociable, with cool features like Name Drop and Check In that make iPhone users proud to share among iPhone friends.

Samsung doesn’t seem to care about that, but it should. The software problems have gotten bad enough that I won’t stick around much longer. The hardware is already great, and it somehow keeps getting better. Now it’s time for Samsung to focus on using the phones, instead of just building them.

Galaxy S24 Ultra: Price and value

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra from the back in titanium grey — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Costs more than last year’s Galaxy S23 Ultra
Seven years of OS updates could improve value
Trade in deals and launch offers aren’t as good as last year

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is more expensive at launch than last year's Ultra, and the difference is going to hurt more. The Galaxy S23 Ultra was already packed with features, and there's nothing so big and new in the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It just got a little bit better in a lot of ways.

The real value could come down the road, thanks to Samsung's promise to deliver seven years of major Android and security updates. That length of long-term support was unheard of only last year, but now we have seven years of support for the best Android phones, with Apple lagging behind offering only five years of support.

Samsung can promise breathlessly, but until we get to year seven, we won't know if it will truly deliver. Apple has literally delivered on this long-term promise a dozen times already across a wide range of iPhones. Google and Samsung – not once.

There's already reason to be skeptical. Buried in Samsung's latest terms of service is a notice that the current slate of AI features may only remain free for a limited time. Frankly, we have no idea what that means and it's too early to speculate. But it's weird, in a way that seems like Samsung is building legal backdoors to weasel out of expectations. Apple doesn't do that. Only time will tell if Samsung holds up.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in front of Galaxy S23 Ultra — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

I bought a Galaxy S23 Ultra last year, trading a Galaxy S21 Ultra for it, and I am sad to report that trade in deals and discounts at launch are not as enticing as they were a year ago.

If you are trading up from last year's model, expect to pay hundreds over your trade value. I'd still say it's worth making the leap, just this once. Older phones are going to be left out of the newest AI features more and more with every update. That means values could plummet the first time Samsung delivers bad news and drops the features guillotine on the Galaxy S22 Ultra, or something even newer.

In the months since I originally published this review, we have seen some deals on the Galaxy S24 Ultra on Amazon, effectively lowering the price by around $150 / £200 or so. This is still one of the most expensive phones you can buy, and we don't see Samsung dropping the price much more, even when the next generation of Galaxy Z foldable phones shows up later this year.

Is this phone worth such a high price? If you're asking that question, you are reading the wrong review. You want the Galaxy S24 Plus, which is probably worth it. This is the Ultra. This is the extreme phone; the one that does what no other phone can do. You can't put a normal price tag on Ultra. It doesn't fit.

Value Score: 3 / 5

Galaxy S24 Ultra review: Specs and benchmarks

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra showing writing on lock screen — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

In our Future Labs benchmark tests of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, an astonishing thing happened. It beat the best-performing iPhone: the iPhone 15 Pro. In almost every single benchmark test we ran, the Galaxy S24 Ultra scored higher. In multi-core tests, graphics rendering tests, battery rundown tests, and many others, the Galaxy S24 Ultra beat the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Last year's Galaxy S23 Ultra was not able to top the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max, and it has been quite some time since an Android device scored a resounding win in cross-platform benchmark testing.

That said, I don't use benchmark scores in my final review score, and I only mention scores out of objective curiosity, not because benchmarks should be a part of a buying decision.

Galaxy S24 Ultra review: Design

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra from side showing buttons — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

A big ol’ slab of smartphone
Titanium hasn’t made it lighter
Polished and classy, but unchanged

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is indistinguishable from the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which doesn't mean there are no differences, but rather the changes are inconsequential. The speaker grills are different, the microphones moved a bit, but mostly the new phone looks like the old phone. That's too bad, because while Samsung's Ultra phone oozes a certain refinement, it isn't very interesting at a glance.

A deeper inspection is rewarding. The back glass is layers upon layers of metallic paint, which gives the phone an eerie depth, especially in the ghostly, natural grey titanium finish. The violet finish is my favorite, with a great contrast against the polished metal.

Samsung pays great attention to detail when it comes to color, materials and finish. Each color has a subtly hued frame that complements the new Gorilla Glass Armor back. The titanium black is all black, while other color options edge into warmer frame tones.

Apple fans like to point out the symmetry of their phone as a pinnacle of its design. Frankly, Samsung is more smart than symmetrical. I prefer having Power and Volume buttons on the same side. It means I don't fill my photo gallery with accidental screenshots every time I grab my phone.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra beneath an iPhone 15 Pro Max — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Like Apple, Samsung has opted for titanium on the frame this year, but it doesn’t make as much difference as it does on my iPhone 15 Pro Max. The Pro Max managed to shed considerable weight this year versus last year, about half an ounce. The Galaxy Ultra? It’s a single gram lighter, at most.

If you’ve never played with an Ultra, you really need to pick one up and pop the pen. Did you know the S Pen clicks? There's no reason for it. It could just pop out, spring-loaded, but instead the S Pen has a clicky top that is extremely satisfying. Oh, the S Pen is also a motion-sensing stylus with a Bluetooth camera remote button, but Samsung hasn't neglected the clicky top.

Of course, that S Pen isn’t just built for fun, it’s one of the most surprisingly capable accessories ever. It’s as precise as a professional drawing tool, not like a big, clumsy, rubber-tipped stylus that you can buy for an iPhone.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra held from the side — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

It also has Bluetooth built in so the side button can act as a remote control for other features on your phone, especially the camera. That’s right, the Galaxy S24 Ultra ships with a remote camera shutter release, which is an accessory I actually bought to go with my Nikon DSLR.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is flat this year, ending a run of screen curvature that began with the double-black-diamond slope of the Galaxy Note Edge, and subtly resolved itself into a signature Samsung look that reduced the effect of the bezel around the edges. On the front and back, the Galaxy S23 Ultra has gently-rounded curves that make the phone feel much nicer to hold. The Galaxy S24 Ultra is more sharp, and though it isn't uncomfortable, it feels conspicuously big.

Design score: 4 / 5

Galaxy S24 Ultra review: Display

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra showing generative AI wallpaper castle — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Fantastic display in bright light or a very dim room
Huge and sharp, among the best you’ll find
Lack of Dolby Vision support still stings

The display on the Galaxy S24 Ultra is excellent, as good as you'd hope to find on a premiere smartphone. It’s huge, bright and colorful, especially using the Vivid color tone option.

There are plenty of adaptations for this display, including adaptive brightness and color tones that measure ambient lighting and adjust the display to look its best. In bright, outdoor light, the display can boost to a stunning 2,600 nits, which isn't quite the brightest you can find, but you won't need any brighter.

Even more interesting might be the Extra Dim option. The Galaxy S24 Ultra can maintain good color fidelity even down at one nit of brightness. That's dim enough that you could almost check your messages in a movie theater, but then you’d be an extra dim Ultra jerk. But you could.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra playing a TikTok video — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

There is an always-on display mode, but Samsung also still makes its unique S-View cases, which provide a small window for time, weather, and notifications, peeping through a wallet cover case. It's a very cool case feature that Samsung never abandoned, even if we haven't checked them out for a while.

Could the Galaxy S24 Ultra display be any better? Absolutely. There are phone displays that can reach 144Hz refresh rate, though that may be faster than a human eye can actually see.

It would be nice for Samsung to give up the fight against Dolby Vision on its phone displays and TV sets. If you watch a lot of Netflix, shows look better when you compare a display with Dolby Vision against a display without. It seems like a silly omission for Samsung not to support Dolby's HDR video standard, when it supports Dolby Audio.

Display score: 5 / 5

Galaxy S24 Ultra review: Software

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra showing Advanced Intelligence settings menu — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Terrible software hides all new features under ‘Settings’
New AI features are occasionally magical, but mostly useless
Seven year update promise already has an asterisk

It has become abundantly clear that Samsung is focused entirely on hardware and has no interest in improving its software. The software on the Galaxy S24 Ultra is terrible, and One UI is becoming unusable. Even the simplest features are bogged down with options and menus, and Samsung can’t seem to make a single decision about what’s best for its users.

I'm going to give Samsung a year to fix its software problems, though I suspect it will take two years or more to dig out of the current mess. Everything that was wrong with Samsung software has gotten worse, and the problems infect every new addition, like a disease.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is loaded with features, but where do you find them? Where do you find the new AI translation tools, or set up the AI feature that rewrites your text messages? Where do you turn on AI to edit photos, or AI to summarize a web page? All in the same place, sadly.

All of the new Samsung Galaxy AI features are buried in Settings, and they are not at the surface. There are 22 different options in the Settings menu. Option 16 of 22 is Advanced Features. Tap on this and you'll find “Advanced Intelligence,” which isn't actually what AI stands for… is it? In any case, that’s where Samsung has hidden all of the cool new features for its flagship smartphone: under the 16th Setting option, three layers down.

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Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra showing — Using Google's new Circle to Search (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

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I’ve talked to Samsung about this, and they recognize that it’s a problem. Features are hidden. Everything gets buried in Settings, as if that is a place we expect to find features as disparate as wireless power sharing, parental controls for children, and always-on display widgets.

In a feeble attempt to inform users about everything the phone can do, the Galaxy S24 Ultra will occasionally bubble up messages and suggestions for things to try. Sadly, Samsung phones are overloaded with messages and suggestions. Galaxy phones will infamously serve you an advertisement, on your brand new Galaxy phone, imploring you to buy that brand new Galaxy phone.

That’s not how you educate people. Take it from me, a former high school teacher, if you simply tell your users about a new feature once, you haven’t taught them to use it. Samsung needs to take a big step back and figure out how to encourage users to try features they will enjoy. Samsung also needs to remove the features that aren’t being used, and hide the ones that don’t need to be visible.

As for the new AI features, they are a mixed bag of amazing magic and useless doggerel. If you get a chance to use the AI translation on a phone call, it’s like science fiction. It feels like you’ve stuck a Babel fish into your ear and you’re living in a fantasy future. Samsung could write ‘Don’t Panic’ on the phone and ship it with a towel.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra showing AI writing style tools — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Other AI features are useful, but only to a point. The AI writing style feature can adapt your text messages to a variety of different styles, including a professional tone and more playful messages, replete with emojis and hashtags. In practice, the differences were not very useful, and I mostly just stuck with what I’d written. Samsung also over-promised on this feature. I distinctly remember reps saying the phone would convert my words to Shakespeare, but I’ve seen nothing like this on my S24 Ultra.

These writing style and translation features are built into the Samsung Keyboard, so they work across multiple apps. Unfortunately, Samsung has utterly broken its software keyboard. During my test period, I had some of the worst trouble with autocorrect and an onscreen keyboard that I’ve ever had.

The keyboard would often capitalize words in the middle of a sentence for no reason. Even worse, it would autocorrect partial words and automatically insert some nonsensical phrase or string of characters into my typing. While typing contractions, most keyboards are smart enough to insert the apostrophe, but on the Samsung Keyboard the autocorrect tried to insert whole new words after my contraction. It was making up content out of context, and it was completely wrong.

When I went back to change the error, the keyboard was quite unfriendly. While the Apple iPhone keyboard assumes that a backspace after autocorrect means the autocorrection was bad, the Samsung keyboard sticks to its guns and makes changing errors incredibly tedious.

I suspect that if I am diligent with the Samsung Keyboard and I keep correcting all of its elementary errors, I will eventually teach it to write properly. I don’t have time for this. I’m not sure how Samsung broke its keyboard so badly, but it’s terrible and needs an immediate update.

Some of the AI features that carried over from the Google Pixel 8 family have turned out to be a disappointment, as well. Samsung promised that its Voice Recorder app would offer transcripts and summaries, just like the Recorder app on the Google Pixel. In practice, Samsung’s app is not as advanced or useful as the Pixel version. It’s slower, less accurate, and does not provide a live transcription of the conversation as it happens.

The image editing features are also less impressive on the Galaxy S24 Ultra than they are on the Pixel 8 Pro. The Galaxy gets Samsung’s take on the Magic Editor tool, dubbed Generative Edit, which lets you select objects in your photo to move, resize, or erase them. When you erase an object or a whole background, the phone can use AI to replace that part of the image.

What the Samsung phone lacks are the best editing tools available on the Pixel, namely the Photo Unblur tool that sharpens even old photos you didn’t take with your smartphone, and the Best Take option that combines multiple photos to get rid of closed eyes and ugly expressions.

Yet, as much as I complain about Samsung’s software, there are simply things you can do with a Galaxy phone, especially the Galaxy S24 Ultra, that you can’t do with anything else. I love Samsung’s DeX, which turns your phone into something that acts more like a Chromebook, when you plug it into a monitor with a keyboard and mouse. You get a new home screen with windows and a dock, and everything runs smoothly.

Why is this useful? I have a computer at home, but my corporate IT guys don’t like me using it for work stuff. Instead, I use my phone, which is already set up with work and personal accounts. If I need to get work done at home, or even while I’m traveling, I don’t need to bring my work laptop. I can just plug my Galaxy S24 Ultra into a USB hub and now I have all of my work and personal stuff in one place.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra connected to a monitor and keyboard using DeX — Using the Galaxy S24 Ultra (left) with DeX on my home monitor (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

I can respond to important emails using a real keyboard, or edit documents in Microsoft Word and Google Docs. I can do just about everything I need, short of running Chrome web browser extensions. I never need to add my protected work account to my own personal computer. I can just use DeX and have the best of both worlds on my Galaxy S24 Ultra.

As mentioned, Samsung promises that the entire Galaxy S24 family will get software updates and security patches for the next seven years. With brand new AI features on the phone, I wonder how Samsung will be able to pull this off, especially since AI seems to be advancing exponentially. How can a seven-year-old phone possibly survive in the year 2031?

One clue may lie in Samsung’s terms of service. Hidden deep you’ll find the following language concerning AI features: “Samsung may, at any time, change some or all of its advanced intelligence features to subscription-based features, in which case Samsung will provide prior notice. Samsung reserves the right to rate limit you to prevent quality decay or interruptions to the advanced intelligence features.”

This could be completely innocuous, or it could be a sinister sign that Samsung is looking for a loophole to get out of its seven year promise. It may offer future Android updates in regular and “Premium” flavors. It could also exclude certain models from any future premium feature and just offer the most basic, barebones OS to the Galaxy S24 Ultra by the time, say, Android 18 is launched, presumably in four years.

In any case, there is now an asterisk on Samsung’s promise of seven years of updates, until this is clarified. I want and expect Samsung to behave like Apple. Any features that aren’t entirely hardware dependent should come to every eligible phone. The five-year old iPhone XR obviously can’t get a new Dynamic Island, but the latest update brought NameDrop, which is a brand new iOS 17 feature. We expect the same when the Galaxy S24 Ultra is updated to Android 21 in 2031.

Software score: 3 / 5

Galaxy S24 Ultra review: Cameras

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra cameras — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Better image quality, even if the specs are suspicious
Less detail from the zoom lens, but better color and range
Still needs help with low light and noise reduction

The Galaxy S23 Ultra was our overall best camera phone of last year, so rumors that Samsung would be dropping the optical zoom from 10x to 5x set off a flurry of concern. The 10x zoom was the standout feature on the Galaxy S23 Ultra … aside from the 200MP sensor, the two zoom lenses, the 100x digital astrophotography, the AI image enhancements, and everything else the phone could do. Still, it’s odd for Samsung to take a step backwards, especially where specs are concerned.

Let’s start with the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s 5x zoom lens. Samsung has not taken a step backwards, more a step sideways. The Galaxy S24 Ultra still has the best zoom camera you can find on a smartphone. It’s better than the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s 10x zoom, and it’s much better than the 5x zoom you’ll find on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Most of the time, like when you are really using the zoom to its full extent.

When you zoom in to 10x or even 100X, the Galaxy S24 Ultra produces images with better color and much better dynamic range than the Galaxy S23 Ultra. Where the older camera made images look flat, you’ll see more depth and shadow with the Galaxy S24 Ultra. What you won’t see is plenty of detail. Samsung has sacrificed the fine details in images for better overall quality.

It’s a good trade. Those 10x and 100x zoom images from the S23 UItra look terrible. Sure, you could make out some details, but they are mixed with noise and blur like a virtual chopped salad. On the Galaxy S24 Ultra, you won’t see as much, but you’ll be happier sharing those photos because they actually look like good pictures, rather than police evidence.

In a straight comparison between the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the iPhone 15 Pro Max at 5x zoom, the iPhone produces better images. Once you start applying digital zoom, the Galaxy does a better job. At 5x zoom, I got a nice landscape shot of a lighthouse from both cameras. When I zoomed into 25x, the Galaxy kept more detail and even better color than the iPhone. The iPhone couldn’t zoom any farther, but the Galaxy S24 Ultra could grab enough detail from the Peck Ledge lighthouse, which sits a mile off the Connecticut coast, to count the stairs leading up from the dock.

Samsung has been criticized in the past for unnatural color in photos, and it’s clear the company took this to heart and tried to hew closer to the iPhone’s processing techniques. Colors look much more natural all around, often even cooler than the over-warm iPhone pics that cast a yellowish tint on some images. Digital sharpening problems have been reigned in, so the Galaxy S24 Ultra produces images with a nice amount of detail, without the blurriness you’ll find on some iPhone pics.

That doesn’t mean the camera isn’t without problems. Low light is still an issue, and other phones handle various night situations better. The Google Pixel 8 Pro is better at landscape and city photos at night, and even the OnePlus 12 could handle some mixed-light shots, like taking photos of food in a dark restaurant, better than Samsung’s best.

Overall, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is the best camera phone I’ve used in the past year. It may not dominate in every area, but it performs consistently better than every other phone, whether you’re using an iPhone, a Pixel, or even a newer OnePlus phone with fancy Hasselblad processing.

Where Samsung really excels is in the interesting shots. If you need a good macro photo up close, or an appetizing pic of the pizza you made, the Galaxy has you covered. Selfies and portraits look great, with accurate skin tones and enough detail that you won’t look like a poseur. The phone had no trouble framing my adorable dog and cropping her fuzzy ears nicely in a portrait shot.

For photo editing, Samsung has made some advances, but you’re better off relying on third-party software, and maybe even some obscure Samsung apps. In the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s Gallery app, you can now apply the Generative Edit AI features, which can resize and move objects in your image, or completely change the background depending on the context of the shot. It’s a nice trick, but I’m not sure it counts as photography as much as mixed-media collage. If you do apply any AI tricks, though, Samsung will add a small watermark to your photo to let viewers know.

The Samsung Gallery app will suggest photo edits, like removing reflections (above). You can see the results below:

If you miss the Photo Unblur feature from the Google Pixel 8 (and it is quite desirable), you can head to the Galaxy App Store and download Samsung’s Galaxy Enhance-X photo editor. This little-known app gives you a ton of advanced photo editing tools, many of which rely on AI and machine learning. These tools aren’t as effective as edits in Google Photos on a Google Pixel 8 Pro, but it’s cool to peek into Samsung’s software skunkworks to see what the company can create.

You can also run more advanced photo editing software, like Adobe Lightroom and SnapSeed. These apps run very smoothly on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, and it was easier to edit photos with the S Pen than with my finger.

I have not been able to test the AI moon photography features on the Galaxy S24 Ultra because it’s been cloudy since I received my review unit, but rest assured I will be shooting for the moon as soon as possible. Samsung says that the AI on board will recognize objects, then try to identify the subject to shoot the best photo. We’ll see if the new phone can keep up with the dazzling astrophotography of last year’s Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Galaxy S24 Ultra review: Image samples

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Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra camera samples — (Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)

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Samsung has clearly made significant improvements with image processing on the Galaxy S24 Ultra compared to last year's Galaxy S23 Ultra. This photo looks much more natural with better color and dynamic range, and without as much digital sharpening:

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Selfie taken with the Galaxy S24 Ultra — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

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Camera score: 5 / 5

Galaxy S24 Ultra review: Performance

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra playing Call of Duty Mobile — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

First Android in memory to beat the iPhone in benchmarks
Only delay comes with new AI features
Tops in gaming and productivity

Ever since Apple started making its own Bionic chipset for the iPhone, we haven’t seen an Android phone that could beat Apple’s best iPhone in raw performance. That ends with the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The Ultra is just as fast as the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and in many ways it’s even faster. You may never notice the performance gains, but I have to give credit where credit is due. Qualcomm and Samsung have managed to top Apple’s silicon for the first time in years.

What does that mean in the real world? Everything that you could do on your smartphone you can now do faster. If you play games like Call of Duty Mobile or Genshin Impact, you can play at the highest settings and experience fluid framerates and stutter-free gaming.

Pair your game with an Xbox or Playstation controller via Bluetooth and you will be destroying noobs on pathetic Pixels and cheap Motorola phones in your multiplayer arena of choice. Seriously, having a phone that responds so quickly to your commands and movements is a huge win for multiplayer games.

Is the Galaxy S24 Ultra a gaming phone, then? You’d better believe it. I tested the S24 Ultra against the Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro, a phone that is truly made for gaming. The S24 Ultra had no problem beating the ROG Phone 8 in every metric, even producing a higher framerate on the newest games.

If gaming isn’t your thing, you can still feel the performance benefits. I edit photos in Adobe Lightroom, and on my Galaxy S24 Ultra I can move the adjustment sliders freely and watch my photo change in real time. In side-by-side tests using the new Adobe intelligent masking features, the Galaxy S24 Ultra was able to find and select my foreground subject in seconds faster than my older Galaxy S23 Ultra.

The only features that cause a delay on the Galaxy S24 Ultra are the new AI features, and that’s ironic. For the first time in years, Samsung commands a lead over its rival Apple, but it loaded the Galaxy S24 Ultra with AI features that Apple has skipped, so far. Instead of feeling like everything moves faster on my Galaxy, I have to wait while the AI composes new text messages, or makes edits in the photo gallery.

Those features aren’t worth the wait. If there was no waiting, if writing suggestions appeared in real time the way Adobe Lightroom changes my photos, I’d be amazed by the AI tools and I’d use them more often. Instead, every time I see the AI stars logo appear, I see a Stop sign.

Performance score: 5 / 5

Galaxy S24 Ultra review: Battery life

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra battery settings menu — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Excellent battery life, among the best you’ll find
Fast charging, but could be faster
Plenty of power management options

You won’t find a phone with longer battery life than the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

In our lab testing, which involves continuously browsing the web on 5G until the battery runs out, the Galaxy S24 Ultra in its default Adaptive display mode lasted a huge 16 hours and 45 minutes. That beats the impressive 14 hours and 2 minutes the iPhone 15 Pro Max managed in our testing. It also outlasts the Galaxy S23 Ultra by more than two hours, as beats many other Android phones too.

You’d have to buy a hardcore gaming phone with a massive battery inside, like the Red Magic 9 Pro with its 6,500mAh cell, to get any more battery life from your phone.

Samsung didn’t increase the size of the battery over last year’s Ultra, it just improved power management on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, so it saves more juice. The adaptive screen settings can be aggressive, but you can turn them off if you need a bright display all the time. You can also adjust settings like screen resolution and processor performance to save more power.

There are even more extreme options. Samsung used to have an ultra power saving mode, but now that’s just another setting under the Power Saving features, letting you limit the apps available, turn off edge panels, dim the display, and generally shut down everything you don’t need to conserve every watt.

There should be a more intelligent power management option that reads your habits and adapts the power savings to the way you use the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Oh, wait, there is such a mode and it’s called “Adaptive power saving.” But you’ll never find it.

Adaptive power saving is buried under the Settings menu, then under ‘Device care.’ Then you have to tap the Battery graph, which is a button that doesn’t actually look like a button, but trust me it’s a button.

Then tap ‘Power saving,’ which also looks like plain text and not a button. Again, it’s a button. Hooray, you’re almost there! Just find the three little dots in the upper-right corner, which is a Samsung way to hide even more menus, and then you’ll finally be able to open the ‘Adaptive power saving’ settings.

Why, Samsung? Why? Why does it have to be this way? Why can’t my Galaxy S24 Ultra come with adaptive power saving turned on by default? If this feature is so useful, why is it hidden beneath FIVE LAYERS of menus? Beneath buttons that don’t look like buttons, and submenus that are just cryptic dots? Enough is enough. Fix the software, or this is my last Galaxy Ultra.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra from the bottom showing USB C port — (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Galaxy S24 Ultra charges at 45W, which is a respectable charging speed, fast enough to get you well past 50% if you only have a half hour to charge your phone. In fifteen minutes, my Galaxy S24 Ultra was just under 40% charged, and it took around 45 minutes to charge the phone completely. That’s even faster than Samsung promises.

There are phones that charge faster, like the OnePlus 12 that comes with an 80W charger. That phone can reach 100% charge in about half an hour, and OnePlus even has a superfast (ie. SuperVOOC technology) wireless charger that is capable of 50W charging. The S24 Ultra can handle up to 15W wireless charging, including the latest Qi2 charging standard.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra can also charge other devices wirelessly, and if you can find wireless power sharing in the Settings menu, I will personally send you a prize. Instead, just add a Wireless power sharing button to the Quick settings menu if that’s a feature you use often.

Unlike the OnePlus 12, the Galaxy S24 Ultra does not come with a charger in the box, and if you want the fastest charging speed you’ll need to pay attention to the charger you buy. You can spend a lot of money and get a big wall wart from Samsung, or you can do the right thing and get this Anker 713 Nano Charger from Amazon for around half the price.

Battery score: 5 / 5

Galaxy S24 Ultra review: Score card

Buy it if...

You want to do a lot more with your phone
If you want a phone that does more than a phone should be capable of doing, you want a Galaxy S24 Ultra. This isn’t just a phone, it’s a laptop, a drawing tablet, a game console, and an entire camera bag in your pocket.

You want to see what the future feels like in your hand
Samsung tries new features before any other phone company, and if you want to make a phone call with a Star Trek universal translator, or have an AI rewrite your text messages for you, you need a Galaxy S24 Ultra.

You want the best phone overall, no matter how hard it is to use
The Galaxy S24 Ultra is admittedly complicated, but that’s because there is so much that you can do with it. If you want uncompromising technology with every option available, get the Ultra.

Don't buy it if...

You don’t need all that
If you have ever started a sentence with “I don’t need,” then the Galaxy S24 Ultra is not for you. It has everything you need and everything you don’t, and you can’t ask for less. It only comes with everything.

You want a phone you can use with one hand
The Galaxy S24 Ultra is titanium, but it isn’t lighter than last year’s phone, and the Ultra is a big beast to behold. If you need something more manageable, try a different device.

You prefer an elegant experience over tech wizardry
While the Galaxy S24 Ultra is a phone like no other, it isn’t easy to use, nor is the software elegant. If you want to appreciate intuitive design and features that feel natural, check out what Apple is doing with iOS 17 on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Galaxy S24 Ultra review: Also consider

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
If you want the absolute best phone but the Galaxy S24 Ultra doesn’t strike the right cord, there’s only one other phone to consider and that’s Apple biggest and best iPhone.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5
If cameras aren’t so important, the Galaxy Z Fold 5 gives you everything you’ll find on the Galaxy S23 Ultra, with a tablet folded away inside. It’s a whole new class of device.

Google Pixel 8 Pro
You can save a lot of money by considering the Pixel 8 Pro, which is not only simple to use with a great camera, it also gets the same seven years of Android updates that Samsung has promised. Plus, AI directly from Google with no Samsung in between.

How I tested the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

One week testing period
Used AI features extensively, plus Samsung exclusive software
Benchmark testing for comparison, not scoring purposes

I had the Galaxy S24 Ultra for a week before this review posted, but I have more experience with Samsung Galaxy Ultra phones than any other phone model, and perhaps more than any other reviewer. I worked for Samsung as an internal reviewer when the first Galaxy Note was launched, and I have used every Samsung S Pen-enabled smartphone ever produced, including the one that nobody else used because it exploded.

While Samsung provides review units for me to borrow, I have purchased my past two Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy S23 Ultra devices with my own cash, and this phone is calling my name.

I used the Galaxy S24 Ultra to its utmost, testing every single new feature that Samsung has marketed, and retesting all of my favorite old features. I used AI for messaging, summaries, and transcription, in addition to testing the translation features with foreign language teachers and students. I also tested DeX for work, Bixby for interface control, and all of the other Samsung features.

I played games with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, mostly Call of Duty Mobile and Marvel Snap, in addition to trying others, like the new Warcraft Rumble game that just launched late in 2023. I play games at the maximum settings, with Bluetooth headphones and a Bluetooth joystick attached where appropriate.

I also tested the Galaxy S24 Ultra with accessories and external devices, including a Dell monitor, Razer Blackwidow keyboard, and Logitech Master MX 2 mouse for DeX. I used a variety of wireless earbuds, including Galaxy Buds FE, Pixel Buds Pro and Nothing Stick 2 earbuds, as well as Ray Ban Meta smart glasses.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra was benchmarked in Future Labs by our resident benchmarking expert, and results were shared and discussed with review editors. Benchmarks do not affect review scores in any way, and are helpful for comparison but not for real-world review purposes.

I tested the Galaxy S24 Ultra camera in a shootout against the current best cameras available, including the Galaxy S23 Ultra, the iPhone 15 Pro Max, the OnePlus 12, and the Google Pixel 8 Pro. I took hundreds of photographs under the same lighting conditions for each, with similar settings enabled. Then, I compared the photographs when viewed on a professional Dell monitor at full resolution.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed January, 2024

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